PM Hasina to open Kalna bridge Monday

Prothom Alo English Desk

In a filip to residents of the country's north-western districts, the long-awaited Kalna Bridge, the first six-lane bridge in Bangladesh will be inaugurated Monday, bridging the Madhumati River in Narail, reports UNB.

Prime minister Sheikh Hasina is scheduled to inaugurate the 690-metre bridge, also known as Madhumati Bridge, via video conference.

The bridge is totally ready to become fullyoperational as soon as it is inaugurated, said Ashrafuzzaman, project manager of Madhumati Bridge and executive engineer of roads and highways department in Narail.

Residents of Gopalganj, Narail, Jashore, Benapole, Satkhira and north-western districts in the country have been eagerly waiting to cross the bridge since the inauguration date was announced.

Ashrafuzzaman said the country's first six-lane bridge is a Nielsen-Lohse Arch typebridge.

"The length of the bridge is 690 meters and the width is 27.1 meters. The six-lane connecting road on both sides is about 4 and half kilometers," he added.

The total cost of construction of the bridge is about Tk 9.6 billion which has been funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) under the Cross Border Road Network Improvement Project of the Department of Roads and Highways.

Prime minister Sheikh Hasina laid the foundation stone of Kalna Bridge in January 2015.