Vehicles, including passenger buses and goods-laden trucks, have remained stuck in traffic congestion on Buriganga Bridge-2 since Saturday morning due to the ongoing repair work of the bridge.
According to the traffic police, Dhaka-bound buses from Barisal, Faridpur, Madaripur, Khulna and Jessore got stranded on the Buriganga Bridge 2, causing immense sufferings for the passengers.
Severe traffic congestion was also created on different other roads of Keraniganj on the outskirts of the capital. People, particularly day-labourers, of Keraniganj had to cross the bridge on foot due to the traffic snarl.
Apart from the passenger buses, hundreds of goods-laden trucks got stuck in the traffic jam on Buriganga Bridge-2. The buses were supposed to enter Jatrabari, Syedabad, Arambagh and Fakirapool in the capital. Md Monir Hossain, the driver of Shohag Pibahan, said that the renovation work of the Postgola Bridge was going on.
“I left the bus from Barisal in the morning. I am supposed to go to Jatrabari counter through Babubazar Bridge. But how can I go there as there has been severe traffic jam on Babubazar Bridge since morning.”
Dhaka-bound passenger Abdul Khaleque said it took longer time to enter Dhaka than the time it took to come from Barisal in the morning. I saw people getting down from their cars and walking to the capital.”
Mohammad Zakir Hossain of South Traffic Zone (TI) of Dhaka district said due to the renovation work of the first bridge over the Buriganga River (Postagola), the traffic jam has been created on the Babubazar Bridge.
The Roads and Highways Department had earlier advised vehicles traveling on the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Expressway to use alternative routes due to maintenance work of the bridge.
The repair work of the bridge began on February 19 and is expected to be complete by March 6.
Sources at Roads and Highways Department said that two girders of the Bangladesh-China Friendship Buriganga Bridge-1 will be repaired and retrofitted.
