Delay for faulty design

Dev Budget Glitch
Delay for faulty design
Tongi overpass is complete 2 years past deadline
Overshooting the deadline by two years, the newly constructed Tongi overpass is a classic example of how development projects are delayed for bad designs and a lack of foresight, ultimately taking a heavy toll on the people.
The overpass on Dhaka-Kaliganj-Ghorashal-Pachdona Road over the Tongi level crossing is a major initiative to ease daily horrible traffic congestion on the road that connects the northern and southern regions of the country bypassing the capital.
Hundreds of vehicles clog the entire Tongi area round the clock now because traffic halts at the crossing repeatedly. Uncountable work hours are also lost in the jams.
On top of that, during the prolonged period of construction, local residents and traders choked with dust from the construction site.
Around 5,500 vehicles use the road everyday, said Sub-assistant Engineer of Roads and Highway Department of Tongi Division Kazi Nazrul Islam.
Seventy two trains pass by the level crossing everyday, for which road traffic must be stopped on both sides of the crossing for about 12 hours a day, he added saying, the situation will hugely improve after the overpass opens. It is now expected to be inaugurated by the prime minister soon, he said.
The work started in March 2006 and was supposed to be completed within the next two years. But the contractor could not complete it on time due to 14 months’ work suspension, as the design of the overpass was changed twice, he said.
The design was first revised in February 2008, keeping unchanged the original estimated cost Tk 20 crore.
In the original design the main bridge was 42 metres long, and there were 215 metres long approach roads at both ends. Through the revision the length of the main bridge was increased to 350 metres, and the approach roads were shortened to 100 metres each, said Nazrul.
The first revision was brought due to protests form the local people, as the support walls of the original approach roads would block traffic between the adjoining areas for too long a stretch, said Sayad Sekandar Ali, Deputy Project Director of MIR Akhtar DIRD JV, the contractor.
The work was delayed again for three months for a second revision of the design, he said.
The second revision came in October 2009 adding some new components to the project including beautification of the overpass and its adjoining areas, illumination, and construction of bus bays and service drains, increasing the government funded project’s cost to around Tk 24 crore.
The amount of dust the local residents and traders had to inhale every day due to the prolonged construction work resulted in an increase of asthma cases in the area, said Giyasuddin, who owns a shop in Aziz Super Market in Natun Bazar.
Rezaul Karim, a resident of Haidrabad in Gazipur, said traffic congestion in the area increased since the construction started.
“A 10-minute distance between Station Road and Majukhan Bazar take about an hour to cover now due to the traffic congestion,” said Alamgair Sarkar, another Haidrabad resident.
Raju Ahmed, the owner of Aziz Super Market, said the number of shoppers in his market dropped by ninety percent since the start of the construction, due to traffic jams and dust.

Courtesy of The Daily Star