Bandarban National Highway (N-108) from Keranihat, the only access road to Bandarban district town, has been completed ahead of schedule.
Bandarban, a green land of natural beauty, in recent times, the immense beauty of this tourist area has attracted a lot of local and foreign tourists. Earlier this road was only 5.48 meters wide on average. Due to the pressure of various vehicles and cargo vehicles during the tourist season, the width of the road is insufficient as compared to the requirement. As the width is less, accidents often occur due to risky movement of vehicles in both directions.
And due to the road being low, most of the road would sink due to heavy rains and mountain landslides during monsoon. As a result, many times communication with Bandarban was cut off across the country. As a result, it becomes necessary to increase the width of the road and raise it to the proper standard and height along with the reconstruction of the existing bridges and culverts of the road. Sources related to the project said that on October 23, 2018, the Keranihat-Bandarban National Highway (N-108) project was approved by ECNEC. Under the supervision of the Directorate of Roads and Public Ways under the Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges, Bangladesh Army has been entrusted with the task of implementing the project. Through the tireless work of all the members of the 20 Engineers Construction Battalion under the 34 Engineer Construction Brigade of the Corps of Engineers of the Bangladesh Army, the project has been completed before the scheduled time by maintaining the quality of the project. Mention that the project is scheduled to be completed on 31st December 2022 but the project was completed on 15th December.
The main objective of the project was to upgrade the road to highway status, establish a safe, sustainable and cost-effective road communication system by reconstructing the existing narrow, old and dilapidated bridges and culverts.
Mosleh Uddin Chowdhury, Executive Engineer of Bandarban Roads and Public Roads Directorate, said that the Bandarban-Keranihat road has been widened from 18 feet to 24 feet, the total cost of the project is 266 crore 56 lakh taka, the work in the project includes 21 bridges, 15 culverts, 3 passenger shelters, 21 kilometers of drainage infrastructure, 602 m Rigid Pavement Work and Construction of a observatory Bungalow of Road Department. Besides, the road has been upgraded to highway status by increasing the average width of the entire 22.5 km road from 5.48 meters to 7.3 meters. Also 1210 meters of RCC construction works for road protection and 1263 meters of protective works to prevent landslides. Straightening of dangerous bends, correction of super elevation, correction of road geometry, use of safety guard rail, guide post, sign post and observatory mirror will reduce the accidents on the road and also bring fame to the tourist city of Bandarban as a safe road and tourists will be able to reach their destination quickly.
By upgrading the Bandarban-Keranihat road to a highway, a seamless communication system has been created for the public in this area. The people of remote Bandarban will be able to supply their own agricultural produce at low cost and in very short time to different parts of the country. By doing this, apart from increasing the income of farmers in the area, it will play a major role in the economic growth of Bandarban region through socio-economic development, as a result, it will play an important role in meeting the expectations of the residents of the hilly areas, bringing life to remote areas and expanding the tourism industry.
