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| The Padma Bridge |
The Padma Bridge
The Padma Multipurpose Bridge is a two-level road-rail bridge across the Padma River, the main distributary of the Ganges in Bangladesh. It connects Shariatpur and Madaripur, linking the southwest of the country to the northern and eastern regions. The bridge was inaugurated on 25 June 2022.
Considered to be the most challenging construction project in the history of Bangladesh, the steel truss bridge carries a four-lane highway on the upper level and a single track railway on the lower level. The bridge consists of 41 sections, each 150.12 m (492.5 ft) long and 22.5 m (74 ft) wide, with a total length of 6.15 km (3.82 mi). It is the longest bridge in Bangladesh, the longest bridge over the river Ganges by both span and total length, and features the highest pile depth of any bridge in the world at 120 m (390 ft).
The bridge, when commissioned, is expected to boost the GDP of Bangladesh by as much as 1.2 percent.
On 18 September 1998, a project worth Tk. 3,843.50 crore was proposed for the construction of a bridge over the Padma River on the Dhaka-Mawa-Bhanga-Khulna Highway with the aim of establishing direct communication between the capital and the south and southwest of the country. At 5 km long and 18.10 m wide, this bridge is considered to be the longest possible bridge in the country. Construction was proposed to begin in July 1999 and be completed in June 2004. The proposed amount of Taka 2,893.50 crore was from foreign sources and Taka 750 crore from local sources.
In the 2006-2007 Annual Development Program, the then Government of Bangladesh adopted a plan to build the Padma Multipurpose Bridge.
As of May 2021, more than 95% of the construction (all the main steel frame spans were set on the piers) of the 6.15-kilometre-long two-tier Padma Multipurpose Bridge had been completed. The China Major Bridge Engineering Corporation (MBEC), which was appointed for the main bridge, is carrying out the work. The bridge have a total of 42 pillars. Each have six piles beneath. Steel spans was placed on the pillars. The bridge have a total of 41 spans.
The bridge will connect Dhaka with Kolkata in a faster way. At least 2 hours journey time will be saved. Southern part of Bangladesh will be connected with Dhaka in a shorter time. Once the bridge is operational, another Kolkata-Dhaka International train via Mawa, Goalando, Faridpur, Kushthia, Poradaho, Darshana & Gede may be introduced.
On 26 June 2022, a total of about 15,200 vehicles crossed the bridge in the first eight hours after the authorities opened it to the public at 6 am. According to an offcial from the Bangladesh Bridge Authority, Tk. 82,19,000 toll was collected between 6 am to 2 pm. On 1 July 2022, the government earned record Tk 3,16,00,000 in revenue through toll from 26,394 vehicles that crossed the Padma Bridge, the sixth day after opening of the bridge to traffic.
