'Vehicular movement to kick off in June 2022'

The work of placing concrete slabs on the roadways of the Padma bridge will end in September. After that anyone would be able to cross the bridge by foot if they wish to do so. The construction of railways on the Padma bridge has also progressed a lot. The persons concerned are expecting the work of building a rail link with the bridge from the ground to be finished by December.

Considering the progress of this mega project till 1 June, the bridges division is expecting to open the Padma bridge for vehicular movement in June next year if everything goes according to the plan. They are also planning the movement of train on the same day.

However, the inauguration of train is a bit uncertain. According to the railway ministry, due to some complications in the design of a viaduct pillar outside the bridge has to be demolished. For this reason, the work of connecting the bridge has been delayed. The work of setting up rail tracks outside the bridge has not yet started either.

Earlier on 10 December, the main structure of the bridge became visible after setting up the 41st span of the bridge. This created a direct connection between Jajira of Shariatpur and Mawa of Munshiganj. The roadway is on the upper portion of the two-storied Padma bridge. And trains will move through the lower portion. The work of putting slabs to make roads and railways is going on in full swing at the moment.

As of 1 June, the works of attaching slabs for railways and roads have been completed by 89 per cent and 95 per cent. The progress of the main structure is 93.5 per cent according to the report of the project. The overall progress of the entire project is 86 per cent.

Speaking to Prothom Alo on Sunday, Md Shafiqul Islam, project director of the Padma bridge, said the work of laying concrete slabs for the roads and railways will be finished within September unless any interruption in the work due to rain or floods. After that, anyone would be able to cross the bridge on foot.

He further said there were some problems due to the coronavirus situation and river erosion last year. "However, we have already overcome those problems. I am hopeful of inaugurating the bridge in June next year."

According to the progress report of the project, a total of 2,917 concrete slabs have to be laid for the construction of the roads for vehicular movement on the bridge. As of 1 June, some 2,604 slabs have been laid. A total of 313 slabs are still to be laid. After that a 2 millimetre layer of waterproof membrane has to be laid over the slabs. It is like plastic covers. And then a few layers of pitch will be poured with stone, cement and bitumen. It will be 100 millimetres in thickness.

Besides, walls on both sides and road dividers, known as parapet walls, have to be constructed for vehicular movement. Till now, a total of 1,536 slabs for the parapet wall have been laid. The rest of the slabs for the parapet wall have also been prepared.

The Padma bridge will have street lights like other bridges. However, additional architectural lighting will be installed on the entire bridge. With it, the bridge can be illuminated in different colors for national days or any big occasion. Large and high-rise buildings including the Burj Al Khalifa Tower in Dubai, have such lighting.

The main structure of the bridge is made of steel spans on the pillars. Its length is 6.15 kilometres. Apart from that, the main bridge is being connected to the ground by viaducts at both ends. The total length of these viaducts is 3.68 kilometres.

Overall, the total length of the bridge will stand at 9.63 kilometres. The viaducts are being made by putting the concrete slabs together. The work of laying slabs has been completed at the Jazira end and only six slabs remain to be laid. The officials at the bridges division said this work will be finished within this month.

The bridges division is constructing the railways on the main structure of the bridge and 532 metre flyover at the both end under the Padma bridge project. Sources from the bridges division said a total of 2,959 concrete slabs have to be laid for the construction of the railways on the bridge. Some 2,815 slabs have already been laid.

The railway ministry is in charge of constructing additional flyovers upto the ground, setting up rail tracks and operating trains.

The railway ministry is implementing about Tk 400 billion project for this. The ministry is constructing a 172-kilometre broad–gauge rail track from Dhaka to Jashore. The project is scheduled to be finished by 2024.

The work of the whole project has been divided into three parts. These are the construction of railways from Dhaka to Mawa, from Mawa to Bhanga and from Bhanga to Jashore.

The railway has decided to start the train service from Mawa to Faidpur via Padma bridge on the day of the inauguration of Padma bridge. The distance of this part is 42 kilometres. The progress of this project is 77 per cent. Now, only the work of laying rail tracks and construction remains to be completed.

However, the project officials are doubtful about finishing the whole project within a year. They are saying it would take at least six months to complete the 6.15 kilometre rail track on the main structure of the bridge alone. The director of the rail link project had sent a letter regarding this issue to the director of the Padma bridge project in January.

According to the letter, a request has been made to hand over the path for laying rail tracks six months ahead of the inauguration of the bridge. In this case, if the bridge is launched in June, the railway has to be handed over in January.

However, sources in the Padma bridge project say more work still remains to be done, including laying a gas pipeline along the railway track. Two separate companies for rail and bridge and two contractors cannot work together. In this case, it is difficult to fix the paths for the rail tracks before March-April next year. In that case, even after laying the railway tracks at both ends, it will be difficult to inaugurate the train service on the first day of opening the bridge.

Padma rail link project’s director, Afzal Hossain told Prothom Alo that it could be possible to lay 500 metres of railway tracks each day with more manpower.

However, the contractor said that it would take six months to lay the railway tracks on the bridge. They have been moving ahead with the plan to start the train service on the day of the inauguration of Padma bridge.

Some complications surfaced last year as the Mawa construction site was submerged in the riverbed. Project officials say the preparations that have been made this time have reduced the risk of erosion inside the project area. However, as the nature of the Padma river is complex, there will always be risks.

According to the bridges division, during the flood in the last year, after digging in an area of ​​about one kilometer at the edge of Mawa, additional silt of about 20 metres has accumulated. A re-excavation is needed there.

Besides, the work of river training is still lagging behind the construction of the main structure of the bridge. The overall progress of the work is 83.50 per cent.

The Padma bridge project is being implemented by the bridges division under the ministry of road transport and bridges. When the Padma bridge project was approved by ECNEC in 2008, its cost was Tk 101.61.75 billion. Later the cost increased in three phases.

So far, the expenditure has been estimated at Tk 301.93 billion. After being extended in phases, the work of this project is finally scheduled to be finished by next June.

If any defect in the bridge surfaces in the next one year, the contractor will repair it.

Professor Shamsul Haque of the Civil Engineering Department of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) told Prothom Alo that there is no big technical challenge on the padma Bridge now and there is no financial problem either.

The construction of the bridge has taken more time. As a result, the sooner the bridge can be opened, the more people will get the benefits. This bridge is not just a necessity, it is a project to transform the economy. This project has drawn huge investments, including the construction of expressways around it. So to take advantage of it, the bridge needs to be open as soon as possible.

*This report appeared in the print and online editions of Prothom Alo and has been rewritten in English by Ashish Basu