An epoch-making change in the development of Rajshahi city’s road network is likely to happen within the next couple of months as the city corporation has been elevating its four major roads into four lanes simultaneously.
Besides, some more road development projects are being implemented at present with direct surveillance by Mayor AHM Khairuzzaman Liton who is determined to ensure both speed and quality of the infrastructural development works, officials said.
Rajshahi City Corporation (RCC) has been implementing five road development projects involving around Tk702.82 crore aiming at ensuring a comfortable road communication network in the city.
Population density has gradually been increasing in the metropolis with the influx of huge city-bound people and multiplication of high rise buildings. Taking the issues into special consideration, the city corporation has taken steps to reshuffle the city’s road system.
“We’ve adopted time-fitting measures of widening all the narrow roads besides transforming the existing curved roads into longitudinal with decorative looks in phases,” Mayor Liton said, adding that public sufferings due to the road-related problems will be mitigated.
He said the projects are being implemented to attain the cherished goal of developing a sustainable citizen-friendly living atmosphere after installing the scopes of quality physical infrastructural facilities of roads.
A four-lane east-west connecting road from the Rajshahi-Naogaon highway to Mohanpur Rajshahi-Natore highway is being constructed with the main thrust of building a strong and effective communication system.
Construction of a two-lane 327.5-metre flyover with a ram on the railway track is one of the major components of the 6.793-kilometre road construction project which is being implemented at a cost of around Tk182.68 crore.
Completion of the project works by this year-end, the road will create scopes of improving socio-economic condition of the public in general side by side with reducing urban poverty, installing an easy communication system between the Rajshahi city and national and regional connectivity.
Another existing road from Kalpana Cinema Hall crossing to Talaimary crossing is being elevated to four-lane with a 2.20-meter wide footpath on both sides at a cost of around Tk127.5 crore.
Two other roads, one from Upashahar crossing to Sonadighi crossing and other from Malopara crossing to Sagarpara crossing, are being widened. The main objective of Tk108.27-crore project is to smooth movement of city dwellers.
The existing Bilsimla-Kasiadanga road is being elevated to a four-lane with separate 7.8-feet wide bicycle-lane and 10-feet wide footpath on both sides of the road along with a four-foot-wide road divider at a cost of Tk26.75 crore.
Besides, footpath constructions with decoration, widening and development works of the city’s important road from Sonadighi crossing to Sadar Hospital crossing were started under Tk49.87 crore project of carpeting works of the affected roads.
Apart from this, the city corporation has installed 16 high mast poles with lighting system at 15 important street crossings at a cost of around Tk7.5 crore aimed at ensuring security and unhindered movement at night for city dwellers.
Chief Engineer Khandaker Khairul Bashar said the high altitude floodlights were installed in the city areas to make the city more bright and attractive at night.
Each lighting tower is 56 feet in height holding 20 LED lights which light brightly at least a half kilometre of surrounding areas. There is no need for smaller poles with bulbs in most of the front areas of the city for the installation of these lighting towers.
Modern street lighting structure will also be added to the improved four-lane road from Bilsimla crossing to Kasiadanga crossing with an estimated cost of around Tk5.5 crore that will illuminate the city at night.
RCC has also planned for improving the modern lighting system on both sides of the east-west connecting road from Alif Lam Meem Bhata crossing to Choddapaya at a cost of around Tk4.5 crore.
“We’re going to add street lighting on both sides of the widened roads from Upashahar crossing to Sonadighi crossing and from Malopara to Sagarpara crossing at a cost of around Tk2.5 crore,” Engineer Khairul Bashar added.
