The severe disruption commenced around midday on Monday and rapidly expanded, stretching from Bertala to Bariura along the Dhaka-Sylhet Highway. Simultaneously, tailbacks rippled along the Comilla-Sylhet Highway toward Nandanpur and extended down the Sarail Biswa Road-Nasirnagar regional route as far as Sarail Bazar, bringing movement at the vital arterial intersection to a virtual standstill.

According to highway police and local commuters, the crisis stems from active construction and resurfacing projects at the Sarail Biswa Road roundabout, compounded by deep potholes along adjacent stretches and a heavy volume of commercial freight vehicles.

Observations on the ground revealed that whilst Dhaka-to-Sylhet bound traffic managed to move slowly through two available lanes at the roundabout, vehicles travelling in the opposite direction toward Dhaka and Comilla faced severe bottlenecks due to ongoing engineering works. The situation was further exacerbated by auto-rickshaw drivers stopping haphazardly in the middle of carriageways to board and discharge passengers. Furthermore, heavy goods vehicles frequently became lodged in rain-damaged potholes, completely blocking narrow bypasses and causing queues to cascade in all four directions.

The prolonged gridlock left thousands of long-distance passengers, emergency ambulances, and freight transporters trapped in sweltering conditions. Many commuters abandoned public buses to navigate the affected stretch on foot carrying heavy luggage.

Officer-in-Charge of the Sarail-Khatihata Highway Police Station, Abdul Halim Dewan, confirmed the situation, stating that active repair works at the roundabout alongside deep road craters have forced heavy lorries to navigate the intersection at a crawl. He added that dedicated teams of highway police personnel have been deployed across key junctions to clear obstructions and restore normal traffic flow as swiftly as possible.