Axle load limit setup for roads drags on

There is scope for setting axle-load limits for roads and highways during the interim government's term, but no concrete steps have been taken yet, sources say.

If the limits are set, billions of taka spent on checking overload damage can be saved.

The Roads and Highways Department (RHD), responsible for constructing and maintaining the national and regional highways, compromised axle load standards several times during the past 15 years, bowing to pressure from freight vehicle owners, businessmen, and political leaders.

According to experts and engineers, a 10 per cent overload may lead to around 46 per cent damage.

The damage will be 107 per cent for a 20 per cent overload.

In a gazette notification on May 5, 2004, the then communication ministry set 5.5 tonnes as the limit for a single axle with two tyres and 10 tonnes for a single rear axle with four tyres.

A two-axle truck was allowed to carry a maximum of 15.5 tonnes - higher than the Indian allowable limit of 10.2 tonnes.

Weight limits for vehicles with different axles were set in an office order from the Road Transport and Highways Division (RTHD) in 2016, allowing two-axle vehicles with different numbers of wheels.

The allowable weight limit was 22 tonnes for two axles, 30 tonnes for three axles, 40 tonnes for four axles, 47 tonnes for five axles, 49 tonnes for six axles, and 52 tonnes for seven axles.

The office order introduced fines for vehicles violating the limits - minimum Tk 2,000 and maximum Tk 12,000.

But the amount of fines in the Road Transport Act 2018 was set at over Tk 100,000.

Officials say the RHD is working on resuming the 2004 gazette as freight movement on national and regional highways does not follow any standards now.

Even after allowing overloading with more than the allowable limits, these are hardly followed.

RHD Chief Engineer Syed Moinul Hasan says Bangladesh has no option but to go for the standard axle load for all its road infrastructure to not only remove ambiguities about cargo handling but also save billions in tax money.

He says following massive changes in the allowable axle load, the RHD prefers resuming the 2004 gazette.

That has been the standard in the context of the country, he adds.

A few months ago, the RHD reportedly sent a proposal to the RTHD to resume the 2004 gazette.

But there is no progress in issuing a new gazette or cancelling the existing one.

Sources say gaps in the load capacity of vehicles emerged due to frequent changes in the axle limit during the past Awami League regime. There have always been problems in transporting goods across the border due to the mismatch in the vehicle capacity of Bangladesh and India.

Road transportation accounts for 40 per cent of the bilateral trade between the two neighbours.

A RHD study - done under a Japan International Cooperation Agency-funded technical project titled Sitakunda Axle Load Control Station - found the overloading trend was higher towards Chattogram (8.4 per cent) than Dhaka (7.5 per cent).

Besides, the allowable weight limit violation was from 5.0 per cent to above 40 per cent.

RHD officials say they are working on setting up axle load stations at 25 points in the country to check overloading, but the progress has been recorded as only getting the land for 17 stations.

Sources say axle load control was previously not possible due to various pressures, but can be done during this government's term if the right steps are taken.

smunima@yahoo.com