Although the coronavirus epidemic halted almost all areas of the country during the general holiday, the construction of the Padma Bridge was underway. The people involved in the project have continued the work of building the bridge with the necessary protection. Although the construction of the span has been halted due to the strong currents in the Padma due to the floods, they are hoping that the situation will end soon. They will be able to complete the installation of all the spans by next December.
Out of the total 41 spans of the Padma Bridge, 31 have already been installed. Four spans are ready for placement. The work of installing these will start as soon as the flow of water decreases.
Meanwhile, in a virtual review meeting yesterday, Bridges Minister Obaidul Padma said about the progress of the work of the bridge, 90 percent of the work of the main bridge has been completed. And the overall progress of the whole bridge project is more than 81 percent. At present 4,650 meters of the bridge is visible.
According to project stakeholders, the progress of the work would have been a bit higher had it not been for the epidemic situation. Span installation is currently closed due to floods. However, the bridge and other works related to the bridge are in full swing. In the 31 spans that have been installed, the work of laying road and rail slabs has been more than half done.
Padma Bridge Executive Engineer (Main Bridge) Dewan. Abdul Quader said that out of the remaining 10 spans, 4 spans are ready for installation. These will be installed when the river water recedes. The work of installing all the spans will be completed within this year.
Last Wednesday, a team of local and foreign experts from Dhaka visited the Padma Bridge. The expert team has conducted a trial to install span number 32 of the bridge. According to them, the span can be set up if the river water recedes a little. For this, the bridge authorities have prepared spans 32, 33, 34 and 35. These will be set up in phases.
The executive engineer (main bridge) of Padma Bridge told Dhaka Times that work is going on all over the bridge. We are preparing for the 32nd Span very soon this month. The work of installing all the spans will be completed by next December.
Meanwhile, the construction yard of the Padma Bridge has been damaged due to the floods. Many roadway slabs were submerged when more than 300 feet of the Kumarbhog Construction Yard fell into the river. At the same time, the machinery and other items used for making slabs have also disappeared in the riverbed. The project officials said that it was not possible to pick up the items left in the river.
However, work on the Kumarbhog Construction Yard, which is spread over a large area, was slightly disrupted, but later work on the project, including slabs, was resumed in the yard a short distance away.
The Munshiganj correspondent of Dhaka Times told the concerned people that the work of Padma Bridge was not closed for a single day during the entire period including the lockdown. More or less work has been done every day. Work on the main bridge has progressed a lot. Spain No. 32 will be installed this month.
Citing the Padma Bridge Authority, the representative said that the last consignment of equipment required for the construction of the main bridge has already reached the project site. In case of emergency, some small items may come later. These include fog lights and electric wires.
The Madaripur correspondent of the Dhaka Times said that although several yards were damaged due to the floods, other works on the bridge were underway. In the meantime, the construction of the road connecting the Padma Bridge has been completed. Construction of a four-lane road on the main bridge is more than half complete. In the same condition the work of making the railway line over the bridge. Railway slab, roadway slab installation, viaductor work is also going on.
Minister for Road Transport and Bridges Obaidul Quader said at a virtual meeting to review the progress of the Padma Bridge project from the government residence yesterday that the work on the Padma Multipurpose Main Bridge is 90 percent complete. The overall progress of the bridge project has been more than 71 percent.
The minister said 31 out of 41 spans of Padma Bridge have been installed. At present 4,650 meters of the bridge is visible. The work of 42 piers has already been completed and the work of river governance has been completed by about 84 percent. Work on connecting road and toll plaza at Mawa and Jajira has also been completed.
Obaidul Quader said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will open the country's first Drishtinandan Expressway from Dhaka to Mawa and from Pachchar to Bhanga.
The government has set a target of completing the work of the entire project by June 2021 and opening the bridge for traffic. The cost of its implementation is 30 thousand 193 crore rupees. From the beginning till last July, the cumulative expenditure has been 23 thousand 423 crore 8 lakh taka. The work of the approach road at the end of Jajira and Mawa is 100% completed.
Source: Dhaka Times
