The Padma Bridge is now on its way to completion. An area of about 60 meters was paved in the viaduct of the bridge on Wednesday. Pitchalai will start on the main bridge by October 30. The work is scheduled to be completed by next April. However, the people involved in the project think that the backlash will end before that.
The steel slab of the Padma Bridge (Spain) is paved with concrete slabs to make the initial passage for vehicles. Now it will have a full pitch of 100 millimeters. After that, the work on the surface of the bridge will be completed. Then some work including lighting, and sidewall will be left.
The government has said it will open the bridge to traffic by June next year. The total progress of Padma Bridge project till September is 7.75 percent. Work on the main bridge has progressed 94.5%. On the other hand, the progress of river management work is 74.75 percent. Bridges officials say work on the main bridge will be completed by next June. There may be some work left for river management. However, there is no obstacle to open the bridge for the movement of vehicles.
Sources close to the project say that there are two phases in the backyard work. In the first phase, a four-millimeter waterproofing layer, known as a waterproof membrane, is being laid over the concrete path. It's a lot like a plastic cover. The cover came from England and Italy. Then a few layers of backing will be done with stone, cement and bitumen. In all, it will be about 100 millimeters thick.
An official associated with the project, who did not want to be named, said that the waterproofing cover was not being installed at once. This covering will be given in four levels. Final backing should be done within 48 hours of covering the last layer. That is how the preparation has been done. The official further said that the work of pichdhalai was supposed to start on November 8. But it has been taken forward.
The secretary of the bridge department and the director of the Padma bridge project are going to visit the project area on Thursday. They will give the next instructions after seeing the preparations for starting the backing work on the main bridge and the backing work on the viaduct.
When asked, Shafiqul Islam told Prothom Alo that a waterproof cover will not be installed in the viaduct. For this reason, in that part, Pichdhalai has already started. Pichdhalai will start on the main bridge in a day or two. Jazeera will be the first pichdhalai end.
According to bridge department sources, a ship carrying a cargo of the Padma Bridge project sank in the Sandwip Channel in the Bay of Bengal on July 13. Of this, about 1,200 metric tons were iron goods. The value of the goods is about 16 crore rupees. Attempts were made to rescue the cargo from the sinking ship at the beginning. But could not succeed. Due to this, the construction of a walkway and installation of a gas pipeline along the railway line of Padma Bridge is being hampered. Project officials think this is a cause for concern. They say the Corona epidemic has reduced shipping worldwide. It may take a long time to bring these new goods. Discussions are also underway to bring cargo on the cargo plane if necessary.
With the installation of the last span on December 10 last year, the entire length of the 6.15 km long Padma Bridge became visible. As a result, the Padma Bridge connects Mawa in Munshiganj and Jajira in Shariatpur.
Earlier, the contract for the main bridge was signed with China Major Bridge Engineering Company (MBEC) in December 2016. After that, it was announced to be launched in December 2019, 2020 and 2021. The latest official announcement says the Padma Bridge will be commissioned by June next year.
So far, the cost of the Padma Bridge has been estimated at Tk 30,193 crore. The Padma Bridge project was taken up in 2006. At that time the expenditure was estimated at 10 thousand 162 crore rupees. The work was supposed to be completed in 2015. Since then, the project has been extended three times.
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