Homebound passengers travelling to northern Bangladesh for Eid-ul-Adha will find a smoother journey this year as the Elenga to Jamuna Bridge East Roundabout section has been upgraded to effectively offer four-lane facilities, the Bangladesh Bridge Authority said on Sunday.
In past years, this stretch of highway was one of the biggest challenges for Eid travellers heading north, causing long hours of gridlock. However, under the SASEC Road Connectivity Project-2, authorities have successfully integrated a newly constructed 2-lane service road with the existing 2-lane main road.
“As a result, vehicles from both North Bengal and Dhaka-bound directions will now be able to travel at normal speed without any artificial traffic jams,” said Mohammad Abdur Rouf, secretary of the Bridge Division and executive director of the Bangladesh Bridge Authority.
Director (Planning and Development) Md Bhikharuddoula Chowdhury is in charge of round-the-clock monitoring in the Jamuna Bridge area for Eid-ul-Adha 2026.
“Due to the widening of the road to 4 lanes in the Elenga Bazar Flyover area and the construction of adequate bus bays, the congestion caused by indiscriminate passenger boarding and alighting will be completely avoidable this time,” he said.
For night-time drivers, authorities have installed bamboo poles with reflective stickers and durable concrete dividers. A 700-metre, 2-lane rigid pavement road from the Jamuna Bridge East Roundabout to Ibrahimabad Railway Station has also been prepared.
Other measures taken for Eid include training and deployment of highly skilled toll collectors, round-the-clock toll lane operation, increased motorcycle lanes, introduction of non-stop ETC, surveillance camera monitoring, and deployment of security guards every 300 metres on the bridge.
Three wreckers — including one heavy wrecker brought from the Karnaphuli Tunnel — will enable rapid rescue operations. Fire service, medical teams, and ambulances will remain ready. Vehicles carrying sacrificial animals will be exempted from weigh scale machines.
Under the SASEC Road Connectivity Project-2, work is progressing to upgrade the road to a total of six lanes — a separate 2-lane service road on one side plus the main four lanes.
Authorities expressed confidence that vehicles will face no obstruction or traffic jam during the upcoming Eid journey. “May Eid-ul-Azha be joyful, safe, and peaceful for everyone,” the press release added.
