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Mohakhali flyover opens tomorrow

21 STUs yet to be installed

Sabrina Karim Murshed
Mohakhali flyover opens tomorrow, although 21 shock transmission units (STUs) of 42 were not installed to make the construction complete.
The construction of the flyover, the first in Bangladesh, began on December 6, 2001 and was scheduled to end by June 2004, but the deadline was extended to September for installing STUs to protect the flyover from damage from earthquakes.
The date was shifted again to November, as all STUs were not installed, prompting concern from officials.
Engineers saidthedurabilityofa concrete structure is expected tobe 75 years, but it depends on quality and quantity of STUs fixed in it At least 54 STUs were necessary for the flyover, but the number was reduced tofitthebudget,theysaid.
Asked earlier why the flyover is being launched without all STUs installed, a high official with Dhaka Urban Transport Coordination Board (DTCB) told Star City that the authorities would install the rest soon.
"The flyover is vulnerable to earthquake damage whether open or not. It will be damaged if a tremor strikes - whether or not it is used," hesaid.
Project Engineer M Rahman claimed the remaining STUs arrived and would be fixed in 15 days, adding: "It will not ham-per our work if the flyover is open for people. We can work at night."
Utility of the flyover is under question as it was designed six years ago to ease traffic jam in the area. "Traffic flow has increased here and it has only one wing instead of two - leading towards Shaheen College," an engineer said, adding the
flyover would not cut traffic pressure towards Moghbazar.
"Traffic jam would have eased if one wing had been made up to Mohakhali Bus Terminal," he said, fearing all vehicles will get stuck in front of the Prime Minister's Office once the flyover is opened.
Four-lane roads with sidewalks on either side of the fly-
over are not in place. Nor are electronic signals installed at the intersections under the flyover that will pose risks to drivers, an official said.
As part of its beautification, landscaping, plantation, basement and gardens with 60 mercury lights are to be fixed. But roads and highways officials said the lights are of low
quality and the beautification is a make-shift arrangement for the inauguration.
The 1.12km long and 17.9-metre wide flyover rests on 19 spans on 552 piles. First Metallurgical Construction Company of China constructed the flyover at a cost of Tk 113,52,72,000, financed by the World Bank.