27,121 vehicles use elevated expressway on second day; Tk21.97 lakh toll collected 

A total of 27,121 vehicles crossed the Airport-Farmgate segment of the Dhaka Elevated Expressway on the second day from Monday 6am to Tuesday 6am, resulting in a collection of TK21.97 lakh in toll revenue, said AHM Shakhawat Akter, project director of the expressway.

Compared to the previous 24 hours, the toll collection on the second day increased by 18.57%, while the number of vehicles increased by 18.93%.

The expressway witnessed 17.405 southbound vehicles plying through the expressway,  14,300 from the Airport and 3,105 from Kuril.

On the other hand, a total of 9,716 northbound vehicles crossed the expressway, including 2,988 from Banani and 6,728 from Tejgaon.

Earlier on Sunday (3 September), 17,872 vehicles crossed the expressway within the initial 16 hours of operation on Sunday, resulting in the collection of Tk14.5 lakh in toll revenue.

The number of southbound vehicles was 11,723, including 9,598 travelling from the Airport to Kamal Ataturk Avenue, Mohakhali, and Farmgate, and 2125 travelling from Kuril to Kamal Ataturk, Mohakhali, and Farmgate. 

On the other hand, 6,149 northbound vehicles crossed the expressway, with 2,212 originating from Banani, and 3,937 from Tejgaon.

A part of Dhaka commuters have bid farewell to their worries and frustrations as the Dhaka Elevated Expressway opened to the public at 6am on Sunday with a promise to revolutionise the transportation between northern and southern Dhaka.

On the opening day, commuters shared their thoughts on this transformative infrastructure project with The Business Standard, expressing their excitement for a future free of traffic woes and lengthy commutes. 

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Saturday inaugurated the 11.5km of elevated expressway including another 11km of ramps and link lines. The infrastructure opened for public vehicles at 6am on Sunday.

The Tk8,940 crore project is being implemented under the public-private partnership (PPP) arrangement involving a consortium led by Italian-Thai Development Company Limited. The government is providing 27% of the project cost as viability gap financing.

There was a little crowd of vehicles ahead of the exit ramps prior to the office time, around 9-10am. But the ramps were clear during the remainder of the day.

TBS found no public buses to be using the expressway, while a few office buses used it. The number of buses was almost the same on Airport road, beneath the expressway.

Officials of the Bridge Authority said the expressway will have a capacity to allow 80,000 vehicles per day. They guaranteed the investors that 13,500 vehicles will pass the expressway per day.