It took over 30 years to build this 165 km long National Highway connecting the country’s second port Mongla with the capital Dhaka . Large section of road between Gopalgonj to Khulna passes through the marshy land underlain by 6 to 16 meters thick peaty soft soil strata. The presence of fisheries & Shrimp culture, aquatic flora and fauna made it ecologically sensitive. Crossing of Arial Khan, a small but notorious river was the other hindrance. Finance and the delicate environmental issues made it a complex Engineering problem and delayed the project implementation.

Taken up in 1973, the construction was left half done to be re-started in 1999. The project was completed in 2005. A low cost construction method for the road and the bridge was developed using innovative technology based on extensive geotechnical & subsoil study including the mathematical & physical modeling of Arial Khan river. Stage construction method was developed for building the embankment over the highly permeable soft soil strata. After dewatering and removal of Slushy earth Geo-textile Filter was laid and covered with sand blanket. The first stage compacted fill was placed and left for a year for consolidation by preloading. Subsequent stages of fill reinforced with Geo-grids were done the same way. Nearly 70%% of calculated settlement of 900 mm was achieved in two years and 90% in four years The 450 m long Arial Khan bridge was built using classic eco-friendly technology for river training.