New Eskaton Road to get a facelift with car parking, bus bay, roomy sidewalks
Around 80% of the work has been completed so far, according to authorities
The revamp work of the capital's New Eskaton Road, which has been going on for over a year now, will be over in a few months to put an end to the suffering of commuters and local residents, according to Dhaka North.
Around 80% of the work has been completed so far. The renovated New Eskaton Road will be much better and wider for traffic movement with car parking facilities, bus stops and broad pavements, authorities said.
On the request of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (Traffic Department), most of the construction work had to be done at night while keeping the road open to traffic during the day, which stalled the overall work significantly, Faruque Hassan Md Al Masud, executive engineer (civil) of Dhaka North, told The Business Standard (TBS).
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"Since the road remains very busy throughout the day, we only get 3-4 hours at night for construction and other work. Besides, the design of the 1km road has been changed several times to make room for car parking and bus bays," said the engineer.
The overhauling of the four-lane road, one of the busiest roads in the capital, began in December 2021 but dragged on longer than expected causing immense suffering to residents, commuters and traders in the Eskaton, Banglamotor and Moghbazar areas, intensifying gridlocks and anarchy to an intolerable level, according to local residents.
The road is being developed at a cost of around Tk 23.8 crore. Aside from widening the road from Banglamotor to Moghbazar, the city corporation is also developing the underground drainage pipes and postal lines, installing RCC road dividers and planting trees on dividers.
"Trees have been planted in some places. A bus bay is being constructed on the Banglamotor side of the road and a car parking facility is near the Moghbazar intersection. It will take another two to three months to complete this road," engineer Faruque Hassan added.
Visiting the road recently, TBS found most of the work of sidewalks, pipelines, and road dividers has been completed. The construction of the car parking lots and the bus bays is nearing completion.
Sofiul Islam, a private car driver, told TBS, "Several car parking facilities have been set up in the Moghbazar section of the road, which is a big relief for us. I come to this road regularly for office work and then I park my car on the road."
Surrounded by Banglamotor, Moghbazar, Shahbagh, and Hatirpool areas, Eskaton is a residential and commercial area, housing several markets with thousands of shops and businesses.
Abida Haque, who regularly travels on this road, told TBS, "I have suffered a lot due to the development work of the road in the past year. But the footpaths have been widened for pedestrians. However, roadside auto repair shops are still creating obstacles on the sidewalks."
Kawsar Ahmed of Anis Car Decoration, a roadside car accessory shop near Banglamotor, told TBS, "The road has been widened, sidewalks have been developed but no space has been allotted for our business. It is more important to give us a specific place for business than planting trees. If we don't find a place, we will be forced to park cars on the side of the road."
Autoparts and accessories traders demanded a specific place for them along the road where they can carry out their business.
Dhaka North City Zonal Executive (Zone-3) Abdullah Al Baki told TBS, "All services will be provided to the residents and commuters once the road is completed. We will also take measures so that the auto accessory and repair shops do not cause suffering."
