The government is upgrading a 13.5 km section of highway from Tangail’s Elenga to the Jamuna Bridge to four lanes to ease travel disruptions for passengers from 24 districts in northern and southern Bangladesh. The contractor began work in March 2022 with a December 2025 deadline. Only half the work has been finished so far, forcing an extension of the project deadline by a year.

Passengers travelling on the route fear severe gridlock and hardship as the Eid holiday approaches, citing the ongoing construction of flyovers and underpasses. Service lanes and other sections of the highway also remain incomplete, compounding the pressure of additional traffic on the main road.

Despite the anticipated surge in holiday traffic, police have dismissed concerns of major jams. They said that to ensure a smooth Eid journey, nearly 1,000 officers will be deployed along the highway from the Gorai area in Mirzapur to the Jamuna Bridge.

Project officials said it was approved by the executive committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) in 2016. Abdul Monem Ltd secured the contract in December 2021 at an estimated cost of BDT 6 billion. The work was to be completed by December 2024, but with progress at just 50 percent, the deadline was pushed back to 2026. Ongoing work includes unfinished flyovers, underpasses and service lanes.

Asked about the progress, Rabiul Awal, the project manager for Abdul Monem Ltd, said, “The deadline was extended by a year after the original term expired. Work is now 50 percent complete. We are struggling to meet the timeline due to shortages of soil and sand.”

All four lanes on both sides of the highway will be opened to traffic before Eid, he added, with 90 percent of the work finished by the new year.

Transport drivers say the four-lane upgrade between Elenga and the Jamuna Bridge has been underway for several years. They blamed the lengthy timeline for causing frequent congestion. The pace of work, they claim, only appears to accelerate when Eid approaches; at other times it is sluggish. Delays at the Jamuna Bridge toll plaza compound the problem, they add.

“Eid always brings trouble,” one passenger said. “More vehicles, plus ongoing construction on flyovers and other stretches of the highway, causes more traffic. We routinely face disruption and suffer.”

Mohammad Shamsul Alam Sarkar, Tangail’s police superintendent, remains confident the holiday traffic will not lead to gridlock. Speaking to Bonik Barta, the senior officer said: “Several problem areas have already been identified. Vehicle numbers will be high. But there’s no risk of major jams.”

He further said, “People from 23 districts will use the Tangail-Jamuna Bridge highway to reach their homes for Eid. To ensure this journey is smooth, nearly 1,000 police officers will be deployed from Gorai in Mirzapur to the Jamuna Bridge. Strict action will be taken to prevent vehicles from stopping on the road to pick up or drop off passengers.”

He noted that as flyover work continues in Elenga, an alternative route via the Elenga Link Road has been arranged to divert traffic and minimise disruption.