staff correspondent 

on wednesday ,march 26

Transport workers have flagged multiple points along the Dhaka-Maowa Expressway and Dhaka-Chattogram Highway as potential traffic hotspots that could cause suffering for homebound travellers during Eid journeys towards the Padma Bridge.

They have identified six potential bottlenecks on the Dhaka-Maowa Expressway in Munshiganj and six locations on the Dhaka-Chattogram Highway where tailbacks are likely.

Additionally, delays in toll collection at the toll plazas of the Padma, Dhaleshwari, and Meghna-Gomti bridges may worsen the situation and cause long traffic queues.

The opening of the Padma Bridge has already transformed Eid travel for people heading to the country’s southwestern region. However, long queues and suffering at the Padma Bridge toll plaza are common due to the high volume of vehicles.

To ease the flow of traffic, Abu Sayad, an executive engineer of the Bangladesh Bridge Authority, said that during the Eid rush, all 17 toll booths -- eight on the Maowa side and nine on the Zajira side -- will remain operational.

Among the eight lanes on the Maowa side, one will be reserved exclusively for motorcycles. If traffic increases, an additional lane will be opened for motorcycles, which typically see a significant surge during Eid.

"Many travellers will also be coming to Dhaka from the southern region for Eid," said Abu Sayad. "We’ve made similar preparations at the Zajira end, where two of the nine lanes will be dedicated to motorcycles."

He added that adequate change will be available at toll booths to speed up collections. Moreover, one lane on each side has been allocated for the Electronic Toll Collection System (ETCS), which will allow vehicles equipped with ETCS tags to pass through without manual transactions. The system is currently being piloted but is expected to open to the public soon.

preparation for emergencies, two recovery vehicles will be stationed at both ends of the Padma Bridge. Additionally, four patrol cars with trained personnel will monitor the bridge area, while fire vehicles will be on standby on both sides.

On Mar 24, the first day of the Eid rush, 18,115 vehicles crossed the Padma Bridge, with 9,285 vehicles passing through the Maowa end. Total toll collection on that day was Tk 24.45 million. Officials expect the number of vehicles to increase significantly as the Eid rush intensifies.