‘Like a nightmare’: Commuters endure traffic hell on airport intersection 

Ashraful Alam Hannan used to breeze through the airport intersection on his way to work in the capital's Moghbazar from the Haji Camp area. Now, the once-smooth journey has become a daily ordeal.

"It's like a nightmare," he sighs, "The metro rail construction has turned travels through the area into a traffic hell."

The construction work, stretching 4-5 feet on the left side of the road, is causing heavier traffic than usual, Hannan told TBS recently.

Due to the underground metro rail project work on Airport Road at Haji Camp and Kawla points, commuters from the area to Badda-Rampura or Mohakhali directions are experiencing significant traffic congestion.

It now takes 30-45 minutes to cross the airport intersection from Uttara, according to commuters.

Another Uttara resident, wishing not to be named, said, "Due to the second phase of the metro rail project, he has to wait for over half an hour at the airport crossing."

Shakhwat Hossain Sentu, assistant commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police's Airport Traffic zone, told this newspaper that due to the construction work of the metro project at Kawla point commuters have to wait a bit at the airport intersection. "We're trying to minimise the congestion," he added.

Besides, the reopening of two intersections at Banani Graveyard and Kakoli intersection also intensified traffic congestion on both sides of Khilkhet-Mohakhali road, according to commuters.

Muhammad Quader Helal, a Banani businessman and Mirpur resident, said they are experiencing more traffic congestion than the previous time as two u-turns reopened at Kakoli and Banani Graveyard points.

"Traffic was minimal when they [authorities] shut all the turns from Army Stadium to Mohakhali. Now it [congestion] resurfaced again," he added.

Commuters have been restricted to using a single lane on the Badda-Rampura road due to the metro rail construction, resulting in increased traffic congestion over the past few weeks.

Rakib Hasan, additional deputy commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police's Gulshan Division, told TBS, "One lane is partially off on the Badda-Rampura road due to ongoing metro rail construction." He said this has led to an increase in traffic in the area.

Al-Amin Haque, a resident of the Bashundhara Residential Area said they have been experiencing traffic jams from Norda to Kuril for the last couple of months.

Dhaka Metropolitan Police's Joint Commissioner (Traffic) Sufian Ahmed told this newspaper that they will look into the matter whether they can make any other diversion and take other steps to minimise the traffic on these routes.