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A 42-metre-long footbridge built over the Rampura (Begunbari) Canal between Dhaka’s Banasree and Aftabnagar will be opened to pedestrians on Wednesday.
The Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) spent Tk13.29 crore to construct the footbridge, which will be inaugurated by DNCC Administrator Shafiqul Islam Khan in the afternoon.
The bridge, built beside Farazi Hospital on the Rampura-Banasree Road towards Demra, is 3.8 metres wide. It features a steel structure with concrete slabs and tiles for pedestrians.
Local residents previously had to rely on makeshift bamboo bridges or boats to cross the canal. The new footbridge is expected to ease the daily commuting difficulties faced by workers, students and guardians in the area.
The DNCC is also constructing two more bridges over the Begunbari Canal—one near Ideal School, about 800 metres west of the footbridge, and another near Meradia Bazar, around 600 metres to the east.
The bridge near Ideal School will be 38 metres long and 15.4 metres wide, while the one near Meradia Bazar will be 49 metres long and 15.4 metres wide. Both are primarily being built for vehicular traffic, with pedestrian facilities also included.
The three bridges are being constructed at a total cost of Tk89.54 crore. All three feature steel structures, with the work being implemented by Dockyard and Engineering Works, a Bangladesh Navy-run organisation.
According to the DNCC engineering department, construction of the Ideal School bridge is 35% complete, while work on the Meradia Bazar bridge is 50% complete.
DNCC Additional Chief Engineer Khandaker Mahbub Alam said the footbridge was completed last month but could not be inaugurated as the administrator was abroad. After returning following medical treatment, he is scheduled to inaugurate the bridge on Wednesday and open it to the public.
Traffic congestion concerns
One of the key purposes of the three bridges is to create an alternative route during construction of MRT Line-1 along Pragati Sarani.
According to the DNCC, vehicles will be able to use an alternative route through Bashundhara, Swadesh Properties and Aftabnagar. The corporation expects this to ease pressure on Pragati Sarani and improve connectivity between Banasree and Aftabnagar.
However, a traffic analysis commissioned by the DNCC has raised concerns that the bridges could increase traffic pressure on Banasree Road once they become operational.
The analysis was conducted by the Military Institute of Science and Technology (MIST), the project consultant, using traffic-management simulations to assess the likely impact of the three bridges.
According to the analysis, none of the four proposed traffic-management options is expected to reduce average traffic delays or travel times compared with the current situation. Instead, all four could lead to deterioration in both indicators, with no significant overall improvement in traffic management.
The analysis also warned that opening the three bridges could increase traffic on the Rampura-Banasree-Demra Staff Quarter corridor, potentially worsening congestion, delays and travel times.
MIST therefore recommended that the bridges be accompanied by integrated traffic management, improved road capacity and effective intersection management to ensure the expected benefits are achieved.