Payra Bridge: Heavy trucks take side-road to evade toll plaza fines

The movement of goods-laden heavy trucks has decreased at the Payra Bridge in Patuakhali following the installation of a weigh scale on the toll plaza.

Now, the trucks that carry goods over the permitted weight use a low-capacity bypass road to avoid fines at the toll plaza, depriving the government of revenue. Besides, the bypass road -- the Patuakhali-Mirzaganj regional highway -- suffered substantial damages due to the frequent movement of overweight trucks. 

The Roads and Highways Department (RHD) constructed the 1,170 meter-bridge over the Payra River in the Lebukhali area of Dumki upazila in Patuakhali at a cost of Tk 11.18 billion. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the 19.76-meter-wide bridge on 24 October, 2021. 

The spectacular bridge facilitated a smooth communication between the country’s southern part  and the capital and brought a revolutionary change in trade and commerce of the locality. 

According to RHD sources, the authorities have been collecting tolls from the vehicles since opening of the bridge. Later, they digatalised the toll collection system and installed a weigh scale on the toll plaza in August last year. The heavy vehicles must go through the weigh scale before taking the bridge.   

The toll plaza officials said they started to fine the overweight trucks since the installation of the weigh scale.

It prompted the overweight trucks to use the ferries to cross the river and evade the toll plaza fines. They are using the low capacity Patuakhali-Mirzaganj regional highway to reach the Payrakunja ferry ghat, though it adds around 20 kilometers in extra to their route.  

Mainul Hassan, toll operations manager at the Payra Bridge, said around 10 to 15 heavy vehicles now use the bridge a day, when the vehicle count was once more than a hundred per day. 

A total of Tk 99 million has been collected in toll since launching the digital toll system until January this year. The amount would have been higher had the goods-laden trucks used the bridge, he said, adding the high ups have been reported over the issue. 

While visiting the Payrakunja ferry ghat recently, a significant number of heavy trucks were seen to cross the river on ferries and enter the Patuakhali district. A ferry worker told Prothom Alo that his ferry used to transport 5 t0 10 vehicles a day, but the count has now risen to more than a hundred. 

There are five Bailey bridges on the Patuakhali-Mirzaganj regional highway, with the RHD placing cautionary signals for vehicles weighing more than 10 tonnes. But the heavy trucks are using the road and bridges, defying the warning.  

Najrul Islam, deputy assistant engineer of Patuakhali RHD, said some portions of the road suffered damages and turned impassable due to frequent movement of heavy vehicles.

AM Atiq Ullah, executive engineer of Patuakhali RHD, said the Patuakhali-Mirzaganj regional highway is not suitable for vehicles weighing more than five to seven tonnes. Despite the limited capacity, overweight trucks are using the road and causing damages. 

He also said there are instructions for heavy vehicles not to use the road.