Rajshahi City Corporation (RCC) has been implementing a Taka 173-crore road development project aimed at lessening the gradually mounting pressure on the existing roads. Population density has gradually been increasing in the metropolis with the influx of huge city-bound people and multiplication of high rise buildings.

Taking the issues into special consideration, the city corporation has taken steps to reshuffle the city’s road system. City Mayor AHM Khairuzzaman Liton revealed this while addressing a public meeting on the occasion of inaugurating a road elevation project at Bilshimla area in the city yesterday afternoon as chief guest.

Presided over by RCC Ward Councilor Nizam-ul-Azim, the meeting was addressed, among others, by Panel Mayors Shariful Islam and Tahera Khatun, Superintending Engineer Khandaker Khairul Basher and Executive Engineer Nur Islam.

The existing Bilsimla-Kasiadanga road will be elevated to four-lane with separate 7.8-feet wide bicycle-lane and 10-feet wide footpath on both sides of the road along with a four-foot wide road divider at a cost of Taka 26.75

crore.

Mayor Liton told the meeting that the city corporation has also taken an initiative to implement a road network project involving around Tk 3,000 crore aimed at freeing the city from traffic jam.

In the first phase, 15 roads will be widened to 42 metres with a 30-metre main road and six-metre footpath on both sides each.

He said that another Tk 182.68 crore road construction project is being implemented along with construction of a flyover with ramp on the road over the railway tracks at Budhpara Railway Crossing at an estimated cost of Tk

29.28 crore for the first time in the city at present.

Twenty-five streets had been brought under the lighting scheme with Tk 27 crore. Installation of 1,285 poles, including 1,173 LED and 112 solar lights, has been completed.

Beautification and installation of lights at nine street-crossings were implemented at a cost of around Tk 2.76 crore.