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1. Introduction: Transport in Bangladesh is an important part of
the nation's economy. Since the liberation of the
country, the development of infrastructure within the country
has progressed at a rapid pace, and
today there is a wide variety of modes of transport by land,
water and air. However, there is
significant progress still to be made to ensure uniform access
to all available transport.
1.1: Road and Transportation History in Bangladesh:
The Roads and Highways Department (RHD) was created in 1962 when
the old 'Construction &
Building (C&B) organisation was split into 2 separate
bodies. RHD is responsible for the
construction and the maintenance of the major road and bridge
network of Bangladesh.
Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC) is the state-owned
transport corporation of
Bangladesh . It was established under the Government Ordinance
No.7 of 1961 dated 4 February
1961. Following the independence of Bangladesh in 1971, it
assumed its current name. BRTC is
a semi-autonomous corporation under the Ministry of
Communication. The governing body
includes the Communication Minister, the Communication
Secretary, the Director of the
corporation, and other officials. BRTC provides both passenger
and cargo transport services.
BRTC operates three international bus lines (Dhaka to Kolkata,
Agartala, and Siliguri in India).
Inside Bangladesh, it BRTC provides both passenger and cargo
transport services which operates
inter-district bus services through its bus depots in
Chittagong, Bogra, Comilla, Pabna, Rangpur,
Barisal, and Sylhet. It also operates intra-city bus services in
many major cities of the country.
With financial assistance from the World Bank, in 1998,
Bangladesh Government created the
Transport Coordination Board. An urban transport plan was
commissioned with the US
Consulting Group Louis Berger and Bangladesh Consultant Ltd
(BCL). The plan, launched in
2008, laid out a comprehensive transport plan for the Greater
Dhaka City and its adjoining areas,
such as Tongi, Gazipur, Savar, Narayanganj, Keraniganj,
Narshingdi and Manikganj, covering
around 1530 square miles. The plan looked at 15 Key Policy
issues including safety, pedestrian
preferences, public transport, non-motorized transport, travel
demand management, mass transit
systems, etc. Almost 70 different policy recommendations were
produced under these 15 issue
areas. 10 comprehensive transportation strategies were then
evaluated, using a base case of no
Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) or metro service and exploring many
alternative combinations. Finally
the adopted plan included roads in addition to using a 3 Line
Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) and the
3 Line BRT. Furthermore, the plan included provisions for 54 new
roads in and around the city, 3 part elevated expressways and a
circular waterways programme.
1.2:Railway History of Bangladesh:
Railway acts as an important method of mass transport in
Bangladesh. Many districts of the
country are connected via railroads. Bangladesh Railway was
mostly inherited from the British-
established Assam Bengal railway system after the partition of
India in 1947. Bangladesh
Railway's headquarters are located in the southern port city of
Chittagong, which had historically
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been the south-eastern terminus of the Assam-Bengal Railway.
After independence from West
Pakistan in 1971, only a small length of new tracks were laid
out.
1.3: Roads Length by Classification:
National highway 3544.06Km
Regional highway 4278.07Km
Zilla road 13659.13Km
Total length 21481.25Km
Fig:1.3.1- Dhaka Bogra Highway
1.4: Some Major Highways:
Highway Name Length
Dhaka-Chittagong 455 km
Dhaka-Sylhet 286 km
Dhaka-Panchaghar 507Km
Daulatdia-Khulna 252Km
Kashinathpur-Rajshahi 150Km
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1.5: Culverts & Bridges:
Bridge 7741
Culvert 13751
1.6: Major Bridges In Bangladesh:
Name Road Name Length(m)
Jamuna bridge Dhaka-Bogra 4800
Lalon Shah bridge Ishwardi-Kustia 1786
Meghna bridge Dhaka-Chittagong 1360
Bhairab bridge Dhaka-Sylhet 1194
Shah Amanat bridge Chittagong-Coxs bazar 914
1.7:Railroads and bridges:
As of 2005, the total length of railroad is 2,706 kilometres
(1,681 mi). Of that, 923 km (574 mi)
are broad gauge (1676mm) tracks (mostly in the western region),
and the remaining 1,822 km
(1,132 mi) are meter gauge tracks (mostly in the central and
eastern regions). The gauge problem
is being addressed by adding third rails to the most important
broad and meter gauge routes, so
that they become dual gauge.
A major road-rail bridge over Jamuna River opened in 1998 to
connect the previously isolated
east and west rail networks.
The border between India and Bangladesh cuts across rail lines,
forcing them into the other
country for short distances.
Railways:
total: 2,745 km
broad gauge: 923 km 1.676-m gauge
narrow gauge: 1,822 km 1.000-m gauge (1998 est.)
1.8: Motorized vehicles and others:
Access to an all-season road is 39% of all roads . Within 2
kilometers (an estimated 20-minute
walk) of a road that can be traveled by the prevailing means of
transport all year round . Total
Number of Motor Vehicles Based on Bangladesh HIES 2000; World
Bank staffs calculation is
852,476 . Data show the percentage of the rural population in
Bangladesh lives within 2 km of a
bus station. The percentage of rural population lives within 20
minutes walk to a bus station is
40%.
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2. Present status of Roads & Highways:
The present scenario of roads and highways is not up to the
mark. The condition of the modern
infrastucture is given below:
2.1 :Condition of Roads:
Condition of roads in Bangladesh differs season to season .While
They are muddy and shavy in
dry seasons, they are full of hollows and trenches in rainy
season as the roads construction are
not free of defects.
Fig:2.1.1-Roads in rainy seasons
Crumbling roads and highways across the country are causing
immense sufferings to common
people, said experts. There seems to be none to tackle road
repair woes, they said.
BUET civil engineering department professor Mohammad Shamsul
Hoque blamed RHDs
negligence and lengthy tender process for the pothole ridden
roads and highways. Overloading is
of course a contributing factor behind the poor condition of the
roads that were poorly
constructed in the first place, he said. Many roads and highways
await repair since 2012-13
fiscal, particularly 81 per cent of roads in Barisal, 76 per
cent in Khulna, 68 per cent in
Gopalganj, 66 per cent in Rangpur and 61 per cent in Dhaka,
according to the RHD.
Reports from outlying districts say that many roads are in poor
condition and the government
could not yet start the repair work though the monsoon is fast
approaching.
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The RHD, responsible for maintenance of 21,000 kilometres of
highways and roads across the
country, could repair no more than 8,623 kilometres in the last
fiscal. Besides, out of 3,01,368
kilometres of local roads in upazilas, unions and rural areas,
15,500 kilometres of metalled roads
need maintenance by Local Government Engineering Department. But
for about 84,600
kilometres of local metalled roads maintained by the LGED, the
rest became dirt tracks.
2.2: Flyover: Modern infrastructure for road development
An overpass (called a flyover in the United Kingdom and most
Commonwealth countries) is a bridge, road, railway or similar
structure that crosses over another road or railway. An
overpass
and underpass together form a grade separation.
In Bangladesh overpasses are actually called flyovers. Though
many developed countries have
applied this approach to improve road condition, way way ago, in
Bangladesh the government
has taken this possible solution to reach in good situation.
There are now a few flyovers in Dhaka City. They are:
Mohakhali Flyover Khilgaon flyover Kuril Flyover
Jatrabari-Gulistan Flyover Zillur Rahman Flyover
And many other flyovers are under construction. They are helping
to ease the problem and make
the life of people as easier as possible. Flyover has made
things easier for people in Bangladesh.
Thus this kind of project is a great relief for us.
Flyovers are helping a lot in our day to day lives. Because of
flyovers our life has been
simplified a lot. There are a few flyovers in Dhaka city. They
are :
Khilgaon Flyover : KhilgaonFlyover is the second flyover bridge
of Bangladesh history. Khilgaon Flyover is next to
Kamalapur. Khilgaon Flyover has a length of 1.9 kilometers. But
it is split in separated ways.
The prime minister, Khaleda Zia. opened the 1.9kilometre
flyover, by unveiling a plaque in a
ceremony on the flyover at the joining its three wings,
connecting Khilgaon with Rajarbagh in
the south, Malibagh in the west and Sayedabad in the east.
Mohakhali Flyover : Mohakhali is one of the busiest places in
Dhaka,Bangladesh. Many important offices and
institutions are based in mohakhali.Mohakhali Bus terminal is
one of the most important
terminals of Dhaka city.Every day thousands of people,
particularly from greater Mymensingh
region, travel by this bus terminal.The flyover has a total
length of 1.12 Km with a total 19 nos.
of span of prestressed segmental box girder profile.
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Fig:2.2.1- Jatrabari-Gulistan Flyover Fig:2.2.2- Kuril
Flyover
Kuril Flyover : Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the
much talked about 3.1 kilometre Kuril flyover in
the capital. It comprises four sections providing uninterrupted
connection among HazratShahjalal
International Airport, Nikunja, Banani, Rampura and Purbachal
areas.
Jatrabari-Gulistan Flyover : The flyover connects
Dhaka-Chittagong, Dhaka-Mawa and the Dhaka-Demrahighways, and
the
different link roads of Jatrabari and Gulistan areas, to ease
traffic congestion in the southern part
of the city. It would also connect the capital with five
divisionsDhaka, Chittagong, Sylhet, Khulna and Barisal. This
flyover costs a high amount of 2108 crore tk.
2.3: Upcoming projects: Here are some upcoming projects of roads
& transportation in Bangladesh.
2.3.1: Dhaka - Chittagong Access Controlled Expressway
Project
Dhaka and Chittagong are the two major metropolitan areas of
Bangladesh. Dhaka, the capital of
Bangladesh, is the main commercial and administrative centre of
the country and Chittagong, the
main seaport, accounts for over 90% of the countrys import and
export. Around 25% of the population of Bangladesh lives within the
Dhaka Chittagong corridor. Currently road communication between the
two major cities is served by the 231km 2 lane
Dhaka Chittagong National Highway (N1), which can be considered
to be the most important highway and the lifeline of commerce in
Bangladesh. It is also part of the Trans-Asian Highway
network. However, the road traffic on this route is severely
hampered because of the lack of
capacity of the existing highway and the load restrictions of
bridges; with journeys taking around
10 hours due to the congestion of the road. The road also
suffers from poor road safety records
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because of the lack of segregation between local and national
traffic and between motorized and
non-motorized traffic.
The Government of Bangladesh has prioritized the improvement of
road communications
between Dhaka and Chittagong as part of the countrys sixth five
year plan (2011-2015) and has
initiated the Dhaka-Chittagong Access Controlled Expressway
project as a key component of its
overall development program.
Objective: To enhance and ensure safer and more reliable road
communications between Dhaka and Chittagong.
Fig:2.3.1.1- Dhaka Chittagong Highway
2.3.2:Padma bridge:
The Padma Bridge is a multipurpose road-rail bridge across the
Padma River to be constructed
in Bangladesh. When completed it will be the largest bridge in
Bangladesh and the first fixed
river crossing for road traffic.
It will connect Louhajong, Munshiganj to Shariatpurand
Madaripur, linking the south-west of
the country, to northern and eastern regions. The project covers
three districts Munshiganj
(Mawa Point/North bank), Shariatpur and Madaripur (Janjira/South
bank). The total area of land
to be acquired and required for its components is 918 hectares.
The requisition of land for the
construction yard will be for six years on a rental basis. As
per the new design, an additional
144.04 ha has been identified for acquisition, bringing the
total to 1062.14 hectares. This
additional land is required because project site lost
significant land due to erosion, for transition
structures and due to a change in railway alignment. The
two-level steel truss bridge will carry a
four-lane highway on the upper level and a single track railway
on a lower level.
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Fig:2.3.2.1- Padma Bridge
The project will include 6.15 km long and 18.10 m wide
bridge,[1]
15.1 km of approach roads,
toll plazas and service areas.
Padma multi-purpose bridge project after the Bangladesh
government accepts Malaysia's
technical and financial proposals on the project. On 16 July,
China Railway Engineering
Corporation has proposed Government of Bangladesh with a better
offer than World Bank to
build the Padma bridge about no interest and 3 years work time
feature.
3. Consequences of Poor Engineering In Roads And Transportation
In Bangladesh:
Due to poor engineering, So many problems are arising and we
have to face those problems
every single day. Some of the most prominent problems are
discussed below:
3.1:Trafic Jam:
Traffic jam is a common phenomenon in our country especially in
Dhaka city, one of the mega
cities in the world. It is not a problem now-a-days rather it is
more than a problem because
problem has some solutions that traffic jam has not. Time is the
most valuable things in the
twenty first centaury no doubt. And traffic jam is killing the
most productive time of the people
of Dhaka city. One of the major reasons why traffic jam is
occuring in almost every big cities in
bangladesh is inadequite and poor engineering knowledge and its
application.
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Dhaka City has very insufficient road networks. For a standard
city, where the minimum road
requirement is 25%, Dhaka has only 7.5% road of its total area.
30% of this 7.5% road is also-
occupied by the hawkers, salesman and shopkeepers.A significant
portion is occupied by
constructional materials and waste-containers of the City
Corporation. As a result, the vehicles
do not get the required space to move resulting in traffic jam.
If we look around we will find that
our railway communication is also not free from poor
engineering. Everyday we are
experiencing movement of 74 trains to and from Dhaka. On an
average, it takes minutes to get
the clearance for each crossing. Thus in one crossing, everyday
the vehicles stops for five or six
hours that is really difficult to offset. Limited parking
arrangement is another major cause of
excessive traffic in Dhaka City. It has become a regular
practice to park the car on road. Even
during rush hours, people are seen loading and unloading their
vehicles on a busy road. City
transports also stop here and there without any valid reason. No
traffic rules are being followed
these days.
.
Fig: 3.1.1- Traffic in Chittagong Fig: 3.1.2- Traffic Jam In
Dhaka
3.2. Defects In Flyovers And Bridges:
Bangladesh is a developing country. Bangladesh earned more
remittance from garment sector.
So there have must need to fulfill his road ways communication.
In 2011 Bangladesh
government started his first Flyover in December. Mohakhali
flyover is the Bangladeshi first
flyover. Recently Bangladesh government buildup many flyovers in
few years. Then, Khilgaon
flyover, Purbachal-Kuril flyover, Jatrabari Gulistan flyover,
Mirpur-Banani flyovers are the
truimps in road and transportation system in dhaka in
Bangladesh. But it is a matter of great
sorrow, that many of these flyovers are not built in a proper
way. Cracks have been found in
Mohakhali flyover and Khilgaon flyover. Moreover, according to
the daily Star, The Mohakhali
flyover remains vulnerable to earthquakes as all its shock
transmission units (STU) have not
been installed yet. In case of a severe tremor, the 1.12 km long
and 17.9 meter wide Mohakhali
flyover might not be able to withstand the shock as it lacks
enough STUs. Experts said that STUs
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were necessary not only for flyovers to survive from earthquakes
but also to reduce the effects of
pressure from heavy vehicles on the structure. Sources in Dhaka
Urban transport Coordination
Board (DTCB) had earlier told Star City that at least 54 STUs
were necessary for the flyover, but
that number was later reduced to 42 apparently because of budget
constraint.
The Bahaddarhat flyover was also a project with poor
engineering. At evening, 7:30 pm, 24 Nov
2012, The girders collapsed down. A huge sound was created due
to falling down of the girders.
Panic ensued in the people who were around the place. People
started running towards the place.
They came forward to help the endangered people. This tragic
incident took away about 17 lives.
The girders fell on those people and knocked down all of them.
So many dead bodies were found
unidentified. About 50 people were injured. Many people turned
lame. The whole nation was
struck at that terrible moment.
Fig: 3.2.1-Mohakhali flyover Fig: 3.2.2-Bohoddarhat Flyover Fig:
3.2.3- Zomuna bridge
The Bangabandhu Jamuna Multipurpose Bridge (BJMB) within 11
years of its construction has
turned vulnerable for alleged defects in its design and
construction. A Korean construction firm
named Hyundai Engineering and Construction Company constructed
the 4.08-km long, 18.05
metre wide bridge with double lane and a railway.
3.3: Frequent Occurance of Accidents:
There has been an alarming rise in road accidents, significantly
highway accidents, in
Bangladesh over the past few years. According to a study
conducted by the Accident Research
Centre (ARC) of BUET, road accidents claim on average 12,000
lives annually and lead to about
35,000 injuries. According to World Bank statistics, annual
fatality rate from road accidents is
found to be 85.6 fatalities per 10,000 vehicles. Hence, the
roads in Bangladesh have become
deadly. And one of the main reason is the application of faulty
engineering knowledge. Of the
total reported accidents on national highways, hit pedestrian
emerges as the most common type
of accidents accounting to 40 percent of total accidents and 47
percent of all fatal accidents. This
is followed by head on collision (18%), rear end collision (13%)
and overturning (11%) types of
accidents. These four accident types accounted for 82 percent of
all accidents and 86 percent of
fatal accidents. The greater incidence of head-on types
collisions on national highways as
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compared with its share in total accidents, highly justifies the
necessity of separating opposing
traffic stream.
Fig: 3.3.1- Most frequent Accident Types on National
Highways
Again, From the collected data, total number of vehicle in
accidents were found 1013, 637 and
549 on Dhaka-Chittagong, Dhaka-Sylhet and Dhaka-Aricha national
highway respectively,
which count for vehicle class involvement in accident on
Dhaka-Chittagong national highway
almost 1.59 times of Dhaka-Sylhet and 1.85 times of Dhaka-Aricha
national highway. Similarly
trucks involved in accident are about 40%, 28% and 30% of total
accidents for these individual
national highways. Small buses also contribute more accidents
which is about 11% for Dhaka-
Chittagong and Dhaka Aricha national highways and 16% for
Dhaka-Sylhet national highway.
Other road vehicle class involvement in accidents is
considerably lower.
Fig: 3.3.2-Accident Involvement by Different Fig: 3.3.3- Yearly
Variation of Vehicle
- Vehicles Classes on Selected Highways Involvement in
Accident
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So, Frequent accidents are happening. People are losing their
life. Still, the engineers are not
concerned about solving these problems.
4. Standards for Highways:
Standards for Highways contains a variety of technical
documentation relating to the design,
construction and maintenance of highways. Some of the document
types available on the site are
as follows:
The Design Manual for Roads & Bridges (DMRB)
The DMRB provides a comprehensive manual system which
accommodates all current stan-
dards, advice notes and other published documents relating to
the design, assessment and opera-
tion of trunk roads (including motorways). These documents,
together with later additions, have
been gathered together in a consistent series of volumes within
the manual to help in meeting the
requirements of quality assurance procedures.
The Manual of Contract Documents for Highway Works (MCHW)
The MCHW consists of several parts which include the
administrative procedures for its use, the
Specification for Highway Works and its corresponding Method of
Measurement. The Manual
incorporates the requirements of EU legislation which are
mandatory for all Public Procurement
Bodies.
Interim Advice Notes (IANs)
IANs are issued by the Highways Agency from time to time. They
contain specific guidance,
which shall only be used in connection with works on motorways
and trunk roads in England,
subject to any specific implementation instructions contained
within an IAN.
The Network Maintenance Manual (NMM)
This Network Management Manual (NMM) provides advice, some
mandatory instruction and
guidance on good practice for the management and provision of
the routine and winter service on
the trunk road network. It generally describes the processes for
the management of the mainte-
nance service including the interface between the Highways
Agency, its service providers and
other stakeholders.
Further Technical Information
Information and downloads on forthcoming DMRB/MCHW documents,
Road Restraints Sys-
tems, Eurocodes, Errant Vehicles, Air Quality and Gantries.
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CONCLUSION:
An adequate and efficient transport system is a pre-requisite
for both initiating and sustaining
economic development. But it is a matter of great sorrow that
the roads and highways of our
country are not up to the mark due to the implementation of poor
engineering knowledge. In
Bangladesh, development and maintenance of transport
infrastructure is essentially the
responsibilities of the public sector as are the provision of
railways transportation services and
air transport. Despite that, we see flyover collapse, cracks in
the bridges and roads which are
really unexpected. As a result, the economy of the country and
the safety of the citizens are
really at stake. So, the government must keep an eye on the
constructional work going across the
country in terms of roads and highways. We must remember, By
endangering the roads, we will
endanger ourselves.
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RECOMMENDATION:
Some recommendations for road and transportation in Bangladesh
are given below:
The Government provides a healthy amount of money for the
construction of roads,
highways & flyovers. But due to lack of inspection, the
total money is not properly used
by the companies. So inspection committees should be more strong
and conscious.
The engineers covering the constructional work of highways and
flyovers should be more
precise and scientific regarding the planning and design.
Digitalization of the traffic system should be the number one
concern for the government
and it should be done as quickly as possible.
Anyone found guilty in terms of manupilating constructional
materials and taking bribe
should be punished immediately.
The defective roads, bridges and flyovers should be marked and
the government should
start the re-constructional work wasting no time so that no
further casualties can occur.
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Appendix :.
1. When RHD (Roads & Highway Department was created in
Bangladesh ?
a) 1987 b) 1965 c) 1962 d) 1972
2. What is the state owned corporation in Bangladesh ?
a) RHD b) BRTC c) RRP d) RAJUK
3. The length of all roads in Bangladesh is -
a) 21481.25 km b) 23654.45 km c) 45637.23 km d) 23145.876 km
4.Largest bridge in Bangladesh is -
a) Jamuna bridge b) Lalon Shah bridge c) Meghna bridge
d) Shah Amanat bridge
5. Access to all season roads in bangladesh in percentage is
-
a) 45% b) 78% c)23% d) 39%
6. Largest flyover in Bangladesh is -
a) Kuril Flyover b) Jatrabari-Gulistan Flyover c) Mohakhali
Flyover
d) Khilgaon Flyover
7. What is the biggest upcoming project in Bangladesh ?
a) Dhaka -Chittagong access control highway b) Padma Bridge
c)Jatrabari-Gulistan Flyover d) Dhaka -Shylhet access control
highway
8. Length of Padma Bridge will be -
a) 7.2 km b) 4.9 km c) 6.15 km d) 8.2 km
9. Which flyover has recently collapsed ?
a) Mohakhali Flyover b) Bodderhat Flyover c) Jatrabari Flyover
d) Kuril
Flyover
10. How many people died in that accident ?
a) 15 b) 46 c) 17 d) 34
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List Of References:
Overpass page on Wikipedia- http://
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overpass
Mohakhali Flyover-
http://bd.geoview.info/mohakhali_flyover,32109000w
The Daily Star-
http://archive.thedailystar.net/2005/01/05/d50105250212
0.htm
Flyovers of Bangladesh- http://all-
bangladesh.com/beautiful-flyovers-in-bangladesh/
Bahaddarhat flyover collapse-
http://unbconnect.com/pm-bahaddarhat-
flyover/#&panel1-1
Jamuna Bridge-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamuna_Bridge
Road accidents-
http://www.rhd.gov.bd/Documents/RoadDesignAndSaf
ety/NationalRoadTrafficAccidentReport2007/National
RoadTrafficAccidentReport2007.pdf
The bdnews24.com online archive-
www.bangla.bdnews24.com
Prothom-Alo web archive- www.eprothom-alo.com
Kalerkantha web archive- www.kalerkantha.com
Picture sources- http://images.google.com
Traffic-jam in Dhaka City-
http://sifatuddin.wordpress.com
Wikitravel-http://wikitravel.org
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Glossary : ARC - Accident Research Centre (BUET)
BCL - Bangladesh Consultant Ltd
BJMB - Bangabandhu Jamuna Multipurpose Bridge
Broad gauge - 1.676-m gauge
BRTC - Bangladesh Road and Transport Corporation
DMRB - The Design Manual for Roads & Bridges
DTCB - Dhaka Urban transport Coordination Board
Flyover - An overpass that crosses over another road or
railway
LGED - Local Government Engineering Department
MCHW - The Manual of Contract Documents for Highway Works
Meter gauge- 1.000-m gauge
MRT - Mass Rapid Transit
N1 - Dhaka Chittagong National Highway
NMM - The Network Maintenance Manual
NOS - Number of span
RHD - The Roads and Highway Department (Responsible for the
construction and the
maintenance of the major road and bridge network of
Bangladesh)
STU - Shock transmission units
Trenches - Holes or hollowes in roads
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THE END
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