Padma Bridge’s 15th span installed

The 15th span of the Padma multipurpose bridge was installed at the Zajira point on Tuesday after a long four-month break due to inclement weather and rainy season.

“With the installation of 15th span on its 23rd and 24th pillars, the construction works of 2250 meters of the country’s largest bridge so far have been completed,” said an engineer at the Padma Bridge construction site in Munshiganj.

Earlier, the gray-colored ‘4-E’ span weighing 3,140 tonnes was taken to the pillars by a floating crane Tian-E from the Mawa Kumarbhog Construction Yard, said the official.

The installation process of the span took time as it (span) was stationed near to the pillars 23rd and 24th and it was difficult to shift to the proper location due to the navigability problem in the river.

Besides, five more spans are now ready for installation which would be installed as soon as possible, the official added. The China Major Bridge Engineering Company (MBEC) so far has supplied 31 out of 41 spans at the Mawa construction site.

Besides, a total of 2959 pre-cast slabs will be required for construction of the railway line on the bridge.

Of these slabs, construction of 2891 slabs has been completed by this time and construction of the rest slabs will be completed by November, this year, the official added. A total of 361 railway slabs already have been installed on the Padma Bridge.

The 14th span of the bridge was installed on 29 June 2019.

The construction work of the long-cherished Padma Bridge started in December, 2015 and the first span (superstructure) among the 41 was installed on 30 September 2017.

The length of the steel structure double-deck Padma Bridge is 6.15 km.

When the construction of the Padma Bridge is completed, the capital will be directly connected with 21 southern districts through road and railways.