In the chaotic roads of the New Market area, every few seconds, someone runs. A teenage boy weaves between buses while an elderly man pauses mid-road, frozen, as horns erupt from every direction. Above them, a concrete foot overbridge looms, finished in form but useless in function.
Built to connect New Market with Gawsia, the new foot overbridge on Mirpur Road was supposed to end this daily gamble. Instead, it has become a symbol of neglect. Years past its scheduled completion, the bridge stands locked, silent, and untouched, while chaos unfolds beneath it every single day.
This crossing is not a side street. It is one of Dhaka’s most crowded commercial arteries: New Market, Gawsia, Nilkhet. From morning till night, the road pulses with shoppers, hawkers, students, porters, office workers, and vehicles competing for the same narrow space.
The old foot overbridge was demolished in 2023. Authorities promised a new one, modern, safer and better. Construction began in October 2023, with December 2024 set as the deadline. But the structure is still unopened.
In the absence of a usable crossing, pedestrians have invented their own system, one based on instinct and risk. They climb over railings meant to stop them. They duck through gaps in barricades. They sprint when traffic slows, then pray it doesn’t speed up again. There is no dignity in this movement, only urgency.
Drivers are trapped, too. Buses brake suddenly, rickshaws swerve, private cars inch forward, horns blaring in frustration. Traffic jams form not because of volume alone, but because human bodies keep appearing where no one expects them to be. Accidents here are no longer shocking but anticipated.
What makes the situation harder to accept is the cruel irony: the solution already exists. It stands directly overhead. Concrete pillars planted, staircases built and railings fixed, yet access remains sealed, as if safety is optional.
This failure reflects a deeper pattern. Projects are announced; deadlines are declared. Then silence follows, and the public adapts. Risk becomes routine while authorities move on.
No temporary crossings were installed. No traffic police are consistently assigned. No clear communication was given about when or if the bridge will open. In a city already short on pedestrian-friendly spaces, this neglect feels deliberate.
In Dhaka, danger doesn’t always come from what is missing. Sometimes, it comes from what is finished and still not allowed to be used.
