Padma Bridge opens to traffic

The authorities have opened the Padma Bridge to traffic Sunday morning, ending the miserable era of crossing the river on ferries.

With much enthusiasm and festivity, hundreds of vehicles were reportedly waiting overnight to hop on the bridge in the early hours. When it turned 6:00am, the structure was opened for public use and vehicles started crossing the river using it.

Long queues of vehicles were seen at the toll plaza at Mawa point in the morning as hundreds of people attempted to cross the river at a time. They involved themselves with history by using the bridge and paying tolls in its very first hours.

All sorts of vehicles, including bus, truck, motorcycle, and car, flocked there. Some of them were decorated with flowers and balloons as it was their first trip through the bridge.

Witnesses said long queues of vehicles were created on both ends of Padma Bridge on Saturday night.

Prime minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the bridge on Saturday morning and crossed it as the first passenger by paying toll.

Bangladesh entered a new era through the inauguration as the structure connected the capital with 21 south and south-western districts. The bridge, constructed at a cost of Tk 301.93 billion (30,193 crore), is expected to bring an economic revolution to Bangladesh.