The Dhaka-Mymensingh highway is one of the busiest roads in the country, especially the Dhaka-Gazipur stretch, which sees a lot of traffic. According to the Roads and Highways Department (RHD), more than 45,000 vehicles pass through certain parts of this section every day. But with the heavy traffic and ongoing construction work, it's become the slowest national highway. A study by the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and RHD found that the average speed on the Dhaka-Gazipur stretch is only 13 kilometers per hour.
This slow traffic in the Dhaka-Gazipur section affects the entire Dhaka-Mymensingh highway. Research data indicates that the average speed of vehicles on the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway is 39 kilometers per hour. The reasons for the slow traffic on this four-lane highway are the excessive number of vehicles and the ongoing developmental construction work on the Dhaka-Gazipur section.
For the research titled ‘Improving the Reliability and Safety on National Highway Corridors of Bangladesh by Introducing ITS’, traffic speed data was collected from March 2021 to March 2022. During this period, the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project was under construction from the Dhaka Airport to Gazipur Chaurasta. As development project is now nearing completion, the Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC) has started operating buses on the BRT corridor.
Drivers on this route claim that although the BRT corridor work has been finished, transportation conditions on the highway have not improved much. A driver from BRTC shared with Bonik Barta, “It now takes 3-4 hours per trip from Gazipur to Gulistan during morning and evening hours. There is also heavy traffic during other times of the day. The time it takes to travel now is just as long as before.”
Infrastructure experts say that the BRT project has permanently damaged the Dhaka-Mymensingh national highway. The planning and design flaws of the project, which was implemented to resolve traffic congestion, have turned out to be the main cause of the traffic jams.
The slow-moving traffic in the Dhaka-Gazipur section causes the average speed of vehicles on the Dhaka-Mymensingh National Highway to be around 39 kilometers per hour. However, this is not the slowest national highway in the country. According to research by KOICA and RHD, the slowest national highway in the country is the N6 (Pabna-Chapainawabganj). The highway starts from Kashinathpur in Pabna and ends at Sonamasjid in Chapainawabganj. The average speed of vehicles on this highway is just 37 kilometers per hour. The report highlights that the narrow roads and poor pitch (pavement) quality contribute to the low speed.
Among the national highways, the highest average vehicle speeds are seen on the Dhaka-Sylhet (N2) and Dhaka-Tangail-Jamalpur (N4) highways. Vehicles travel at an average of 52 kilometers per hour on these two routes. Additionally, on the Dhaka-Teknaf (N1) highway, the speed is 48 kilometers per hour, on the Dhaka-Banglabandha (N5) highway, it’s 41 kilometers per hour, on the Daulatdia-Mongla (N7) highway, it’s 42 kilometers per hour, and on the Dhaka-Patuakhali highway, the average speed is 50 kilometers per hour. Overall, the national highways in the country have an average speed slightly above 45 kilometers per hour.
Dr. Shamsul Hoque, a transportation infrastructure expert and professor at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), believes that an average speed of less than 50 kilometers per hour indicates poor conditions on the national highways. He told Bonik Barta, “National highways are designed to be the highest quality roads in the country, built to accommodate vehicles moving at speeds of up to 80 kilometers per hour. If the speed drops to 50 kilometers per hour or lower, it suggests that the construction and development of these roads have not been done properly. The goal of these developments was to allow vehicles to move faster, reducing both travel time and costs.”
Dr. Hoque further mentioned that the current state of the national highways is concerning for the country’s economy. “If the condition of the national highways is poor or deteriorating, it’s never good news for the country’s economy. It’s a serious concern. If the national highways are in such a state, it inevitably means that the productivity of other roads will be even lower.”
The Dhaka-Chattogram and Dhaka-Mymensingh highways have been upgraded to four lanes over the past 15 years. The Dhaka-Bhanga Expressway has also been completed and upgraded into an expressway. The Dhaka-Tangail highway has been expanded to four lanes. Work is ongoing to upgrade the Tangail-Rangpur highway to four lanes. Significant improvements have also been made to other national, regional, and district roads in the country.
Despite all these developments, Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan, adviser to the Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges in the interim government, has stated that the country still lacks real national highways. He told Bonik Barta, “We have built shops and various infrastructure along the highways, but the management of traffic on these roads is still poor. Buses stop anywhere to pick up passengers. Such irregularities and inefficiencies are part of our culture. Additionally, enforcement of laws is not carried out properly. Our drivers don’t drive properly either. There are also infrastructural weaknesses, and most highways don’t have bus bays. The problems that have persisted for a long time will take time to solve.”
Some roads and highways in the country have limited scope for further infrastructure development. Taking the example of the flyover at Mohakhali, Fouzul Kabir said, “There is traffic congestion at the entrance to the flyover. However, there’s no room to widen the road to alleviate this issue because multi-story buildings have been constructed on both sides.”
On current plans, the adviser mentioned, “What we are doing now is that, for new roads, we are ensuring that not only the roads themselves but also necessary infrastructure for parking vehicles is included. We are also focusing on driver training and proper enforcement measures.”