70 Deadly Curves on Barishal-Kuakata Highway

In 2022, on the morning of May 29, a bus lost control and crashed into a tree at a curve in the Sanuhar area of Uzirpur on the Barishal-Kuakata Highway, killing 10 people on the spot. Two days later, a head-on collision between a bus and a truck at the same location claimed two more lives. Accidents continue to occur regularly at the curve. Most recently, on the night of June 29, a motorcyclist was killed in a collision between a pickup van and a motorcycle in front of the Tanti Board area of Palardi in Barishal’s Gournadi upazila.

Seventy curves along the 166-kilometer Barishal-Kuakata Highway have turned into deadly traps. Over the past five years, road accidents have killed 2,400 people in Barishal Division, and three-quarters of those fatalities occurred in crashes on this highway. Bus drivers and leaders of transport owners’ associations say most accidents on the route take place at these curves.

Uzirpur alone has at least eight such dangerous bends on the highway. Besides Sanuhar, accidents frequently occur at curves in Bamrail, Notun Shikarpur, Joyshree, and Ichladi areas, according to Md. Chhagir, a tea stall owner at Sanuhar Bazar.

Local residents said accidents occur regularly not only in those areas of Uzirpur but also at curves near Bhurghata Bridge, Bhurghata Bus Stand, Torki, Ashokathi, Mahilara, Batajor, Katakasthal, Nayahat in Babuganj, Rahmatpur, Airport Intersection, Cadet College, Pangsha, Satmile, Chhoymile, Gariarpar, Kashipur, Raintree Tala, Dopdopiya Zero Point, Nalchity Zero Point, Lakshmipasha, Boalia, Bhorpasha, Charamaddi, Shakharia and Bricks Field in Amtali, and Mohishkata, Chunakhali, and Keorabunia in Kalapara of Patuakhali. Many people have lost their lives in crashes at these locations.

Khandaker Imam Hossain Nasir, general secretary of the Barishal Divisional Committee of the Bangladesh Road Transport Owners Association, said there are 30 hazardous curves between the Payra Bridge in Lebukhali, Patuakhali, and Kuakata. He noted that dense winter fog frequently contributes to accidents at these bends, causing the death toll to rise steadily.

However, according to the Patuakhali office of the Roads and Highways Department (RHD), there are 20 hazardous curves between Payra Bridge and Kuakata. Warning signs have been installed near several of them. The ministry is currently reviewing a project proposal to straighten the curves. Patuakhali RHD Executive Engineer Jamil Akter Limon believes straightening them would reduce accidents.

Kalachand Das, a former driver on the internal routes operating from Barishal Central Bus Terminal, said there are around 40 dangerous curves between Nathullabad Bus Terminal in Barishal and Bhurghata, the boundary of Barishal. Among them, 18 to 19 are particularly risky. Since the opening of the Padma Bridge, the number of high-speed vehicles on the Dhaka-Barishal Highway has increased significantly. Drivers exit the Bhanga Expressway and immediately enter a highway that is only 24 feet wide and filled with curves.

Mosharraf Hossain, president of the Barishal District Bus Owners Group, said most accidents on the 56-kilometer stretch between Bhurghata and Barishal Central Bus Terminal occur because of these curves. Vehicles often lose control while navigating bends and plunge into ditches or collide head-on with oncoming traffic, causing casualties.

Nazmul Islam, executive engineer of the Roads and Highways Department in Barishal, said authorities have identified 36 curves on the Barishal section of the Dhaka-Barishal Highway. The highway has already been widened in many of these high-risk areas, and expansion work is still underway at several locations. Authorities have also installed warning signs in accident-prone zones. Nevertheless, he believes accidents continue to occur because of speeding and driver negligence.

According to the Roads and Highways Department, between 16,000 and 19,000 vehicles traveled daily on the stretch from Bhurghata in Barishal to Kuakata in Patuakhali before the opening of the Padma Bridge. After the bridge opened, daily traffic increased to between 25,000 and 30,000 vehicles.

Data from the Bangladesh Road Safety Foundation show that road accidents killed nearly 2,400 people in Barishal Division over the past five years. The organization's Executive Director, Saidur Rahman, said three-quarters of the victims died in accidents on the Barishal-Kuakata Highway. He noted that some curves on the route are almost U-shaped. Despite the presence of these accident-prone bends, fierce competition among bus operators and risky overtaking maneuvers by drivers have contributed to a high number of crashes. In many places, widening the road has failed to reduce accidents.

Saidur Rahman believes the authorities should work with bus owners and take appropriate measures while also increasing driver awareness to reduce accidents.

Rezaul Karim, additional chief engineer of the Roads and Highways Department’s Barishal Zone, said the Barishal-Kuakata Highway is a narrow two-lane road with an average width of 24 feet. Traffic volume on the route has nearly doubled since the opening of the Padma Bridge. The growing number of vehicles on such a narrow highway has contributed to an increase in accidents.

Authorities have widened roads in accident-prone areas and continue to carry out expansion work. They have also installed speed breakers in market areas and warning signs at intersections. Even so, accidents continue because of a lack of awareness among road users. He believes constructing a six-lane highway would significantly reduce fatalities on the route.