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Three much-awaited bridges in Narayanganj, Pirojpur and Narail districts, which are believed to boost inter-district communication and economy, are almost ready for inauguration.
The authorities have already sent the summary of the Bekutia Bridge project in Pirojpur to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s office and are waiting to get her nod for the inauguration. The premier is expected to open the bridge to traffic in September, said officials.
Not much work on the other two — the six-lane Kalna Bridge in Narail, which is the first of its kind in the country, and the 3rd Shitalakkhya Bridge in Narayanganj — are left and authorities believe the bridges will be ready to open by October.
The three bridges under three separate projects are being built at a cost of around Tk 2,500 crore by the Roads and Highways Department (RHD).
Road Transport and Highway Division Secretary ABM Amin Ullah Nuri told The Business Post, “The constructions of Kalna and Shitalakkhya bridges are nearly done and they will be complete as soon as possible.
“There is a possibility that these two will be inaugurated soon along with another bridge in Sunamganj. We will seek the prime minister’s consent to open them to traffic.”
Once opened, the Bekutia Bridge, also known as the 8th Bangladesh-China Friendship Bridge, will establish a direct road link between Barishal city and Pirojpur and Khulna as there will be no ferry on the Kacha River. Once the bridge is open, road communication between Payra and Mongla Ports will become uninterrupted.
On the other hand, ferry services on the Madhumati River linking Dhaka and Jashore will become obsolete after Kalna Bridge establishes a direct link. All vehicles heading to Dhaka from Narail, Jashore, Benapole port and Khulna will not have to go through Magura-Faridpur either.
Meanwhile, the 3rd Shitalakhya Bridge will establish a direct road link between Narayanganj city and Bandar upazila, which currently requires a 30-kilometre journey via Kanchpur Bridge. The new four-lane bridge will cut down travel on this route by 28 kilometres.
It will also link Padma Bridge with Dhaka-Chittagong Highway through Madanganj-Syedpur-Mukterpur-Munshiganj-Tongibari-Louhajong road and reduce the distance by 9 kilometres. Using this route, Chittagong-bound vehicles from the Barishal region will not need to enter Dhaka city to get on the highway after crossing the Padma Bridge.
Bekutia Bridge set to open
The bridge’s Project Director Abdul Awal Molla told The Business Post that they have some minor works left but those can be completed before the inauguration date is announced.
“All physical works of the bridge are done. The inauguration may happen in the first week of September or the last week of this month,” he added.
This project was taken in 2017 at a cost of Tk 894 crore, with Tk 654 crore from China as a grant. The construction began in 2018.
The biggest Nielsen-Lohse arch type steel bridge
The Kalna Bridge is being built over the Madhumati River, connecting Gopalganj’s Kashiani upazila and Narail’s Lohagara upazila, under the Cross-Border Road Network Improvement Project at the cost of Tk 959.45 crore with a soft loan from Japan.
The first ever six-lane bridge — also the biggest Nielsen-Lohse arch-type steel bridge in the country — will fully complete the Asian Highway-1 route, connecting India’s Assam with West Bengal via Sylhet-Dhaka-Narail-Jashore.
Project Director Shyamal Kumar Bhattacharyya recently told The Business Post that all works on the bridge, except the lamp posts, will be done by the end of August.
“Currently, we are working on road marking and median placing for slow-moving vehicles. Construction of the toll plaza is also going on,” he said, adding the lamp post-related work will also be completed by September.
New Shitalakhya Bridge for all vehicles
This project was launched in 2010 with Saudi Arabia’s funding but the construction work began in January 2018.
Project Director Shoaib Ahmed recently told The Business Post that they are ready to open the bridge to traffic in October as 97 per cent of the work is already done. Tk 608.56 crore has been spent to build the bridge.
The final phase of construction of the bridge’s toll plaza and approach road and some ancillary works are pending, he added.
All types of motorised vehicles will be able to ply the bridge’s four lanes. Two of the lanes are dedicated to slow-moving vehicles like auto-rickshaw, rickshaws and vans. The bridge is 22.15 metres wide and has footpaths for walking. The toll plaza will have six lanes, said Shoaib.
