6km of Padma Bridge becomes visible as 40th span installed

The 40th span of Padma bridge is installed on 11th and 12th piers on the morning of 4 December 2020
The 40th span of Padma bridge is installed on 11th and 12th piers on the morning of 4 December 2020 Prothom Alo

A total of 6,000 meters of the Padma Bridge have become visible with the installation of 40th span on Friday, reports state-run news agency BSS.

With this around 91 per cent construction work of the main bridge has been completed while an overall progress of the project is over 82 per cent.

“The span bearing number ‘2E’ has been installed on piers 11 and 12 at around 10:58am at the Mawa end in Munshiganj district,” said Dewan M Abdul Kader, executive engineer of the Padma bridge project.

The official, however, expected that the bridge will be completed with the installation of 41st span, adding that the span will be installed on piers 12 and 13 before 15 December ahead of the victory day.

Of the double-decker Padma Bridge, some 2,917 road slabs will also be installed on the span for moving vehicles and 2,959 railway slabs along with 1312 iron guarders will be installed on the lower portion of the bridge for railway communications.

Construction works on the long-cherished Padma Bridge Project began in December, 2015. The first span (superstructure) of the bridge was installed on 30 September 2017.

Padma Bridge is the biggest infrastructure since the independence of Bangladesh, which was initiated by prime minister Sheikh Hasina.

The construction of the main bridge is being made by China Major Bridge Engineering Company (MBEC), a Chinese contractor Company, and the river management is being done by Sino Hydro Corporation of China.

The 6.15km long bridge will be opened for people on December 2021.