The N7 is a Bangladeshi national highway connecting the Daulatdia Ferry Terminal, on the south bank of the

Padma River The Padma ( bn, পদ্মা ''Pôdma'') is a major river in Bangladesh. It is the main distributary of the Ganges, flowing generally southeast for to its confluence with the Meghna River near the Bay of Bengal. The city of Rajshahi is sit ...

near the Bangladeshi capital

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city i ...

, with the

Port of Mongla The Port of Mongla is a link sea port, located at Mongla Upazila, Khulna Division, Bangladesh.It is a sea port of Khulna city which is located near to the north. It is the second largest and second busiest seaport of Bangladesh. Mongla port lie ...

Bagerhat District Bagerhat District ( bn, বাগেরহাট, pron: ''bageɾɦaʈ'') is a district in south-western Bangladesh. It is a part of the Khulna Division. Geography Bagerhat district has a total area of 3959.11 square kilometres. It is bounded by ...

. It serves some of the largest cities and towns in southwestern Bangladesh, including Faridpur, Magura,

Jhenaidah Jhenaidah ( bn, ঝিনাইদহ) is a city in the Khulna Division of south-western Bangladesh. Jhenaidah is the headquarters of Jhenaidah Sadar Upazila and Jhenaidah District. The city has a population of about 252 thousand, making it the ...

Jessore Jessore ( bn, যশোর, jôshor, ), officially Jashore, is a city of Jessore District situated in Khulna Division. It is situated in the south-western part of Bangladesh. It is the administrative centre (headquarter) of the eponymous district ...

, and Khulna. The highway is known along various stretches as the Dhaka–Khulna Highway, the Jessore-Khulna Highway, and the Khulna-Mongla Highway. Southwestern Bangladesh is laced with numerous rivers and streams, which results in N7 having the most bridges and culverts of any highway in the national system. It is limited to two lanes of traffic for most of its length.

Route description

The northern terminus of N7 is the Daulatdia Ferry Terminal, on the south bank of the

. Although sometimes called the Dhaka—Khulna Highway, the city of

lies across the river and east of the end of the road. Long delays waiting to cross the river fuel the prostitution that makes Daulatdia the largest brothel in Bangladesh, and one of the largest in the world. Beginning at the ferry terminal, N7 goes southwest for 14 km before it turns southeast and parallels the river as far as the junction with N803 just west of Faridpur. Skirting the city, the highway turns west to Magura where N702 splits off. N7 continues west from Magura to

, a stretch that is the second deadliest in the national highway network. It makes a three-quarters loop around the north and west sides of Jhenaidah, with N704 splitting off at Arappur and N703 going into the centre of the city, before N7 turns south to

. The segment between Jhenaidah and Jessore is the busiest one on the highway. At Palbari, just north of Jessore, N708 branches off. In Jessore N7 is rejoined by N702, and N706 splits off. Just south of Jessore, N707 merges at Murali. N7 continues southeast, passing through Khulna, the largest city on the highway and the administrative headquarters of

Khulna Division The Khulna Division ( bn, খুলনা বিভাগ) is the second largest of the eight divisions of Bangladesh. It has an area of and a population of 15,563,000 at the 2011 Bangladesh census (preliminary returns). Its headquarters and lar ...

. N709 is a bypass that takes off from Phultala, north of Khulna, and rejoins south of the city at Kudir Battala, crossing the Rupsha River by bridge instead of, as the main road does, by ferry. The southern terminus of N7 is Bangladesh's second busiest seaport, the

, at the junction of the Mongla and

Pasur River The Pasur River is a river in southwestern Bangladesh and a distributary of the Ganges. It continues the Rupsa River. All its distributaries are tidal. It meets the Shibsa River within the Sundarbans Sundarbans (pronounced ) is a mangrove a ...

Junction list

References

AH1 National Highways in Bangladesh {{Bangladesh-road-stub