Zihad Rana, Barishal Bureau
The long-cherished dream of the people of the southern region of Bangladesh “Padma and Payra Bridge” is no longer a dream. The dream has now come true. The last span of Padma bridge was installed on Thursday, December 10, 2020. The entire structure of the 6.15 km long Padma Bridge has been visible. Immediately after this, the bridge over the river Payra is visible. Recently the construction work of Payra Bridge has been completed. However, the bridge construction project is three and a half times more than the original cost, which means that the project has cost 1,447.24 crore. And the project took more than 5 years to complete.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will inaugurate the bridge anytime next month. On the occasion of inauguration of the bridge and arrival of the Prime Minister, Secretary of Road Transport and Highways Department Md. Nazrul Islam and Barisal Divisional Commissioner Md. Saiful Hasan Badal have already inspected the bridge and exchanged views with local administration and dignitaries.
Although the opening date has not been fixed yet. Meanwhile, various political, social and cultural organizations in Patuakhali have demanded that the bridge be named after Alauddin, the native son of Patuakhali, the first martyr of the independence movement. On the other hand, there has already been a mixed reaction through social media to the toll set by the Road Transport and Highways Department for crossing the bridge. Although, the toll has been fixed at the high-level meeting of the concerned ministry.
Besides, many small and big industries including hotels and motels are being set up in Barisal and the entire southern region around the Padma and Payra bridges. With the resumption of traffic on the two bridges, there will be a radical change in the communication system of various departments including the capital Dhaka with the south and a revolution in socio-economic development. It is hoped that this will open the door to the fate of the people of the south.
According to sources, the project was approved by the government at the ECNEC meeting on May 8, 2012. In 2016, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina laid the foundation stone of the Lebukhali Bridge over the Payra River. The length of the Pigeon Bridge on the 39-kilometer Barisal-Patuakhali-Kuakata Highway over the Payra River at a cost of Tk 1,170 crore is 1,470 meters and the width is 19.76 meters.
It was jointly funded by the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development, OPEC Fund for International Development and the Government of Bangladesh. The bridge was built by the Chinese contractor Longjian Road and Bridge Construction. It has been constructed in the style of the third Karnafuli Bridge in Chattogram. Only one pillar is used on the river side as the bridge is connected on both sides by extra dose cable. It is built on four spans of 630 meters box girders on the main part of the Payra River.
Two spans of 18.30 m vertical clearance of 200 m have been laid in the main part for the movement of goods and fuel vessels at Payra seaport. A 130-meter-long pile has been placed at the bottom of the river, which is the largest in the country. The main bridge of 32 spans is built on ten piers, piles and pier caps with 55 test piles of different sizes. It also has 167 box girder segments. As a result, the bridge seems to be hanging from a distance. Besides, the bridge will be 18.30 meters high from the river during high tide. A total of 1,268 meters of approach road has been constructed on both sides of the four-lane bridge. Work on toll plaza, administrative building, electrification, river governance project has also been completed.
However, it took more than 5 years to build the bridge. Thousands of people have had to wait for years for the bridge due to major changes in the design of the bridge, delays in land acquisition, lengthy tender process and problems caused by the recent global epidemic. The whole southern region is waiting for the end of that wait next month.
Payrabridge construction project director Abdul Halim said the special feature of the bridge is that a help monitoring system has been set up on the bridge. This monitoring system will provide forecasts to avoid damage due to various natural calamities or overloaded vehicles including earthquakes and thunderstorms. Moreover, it is the second bridge in the country to be built with extra dose cable system.
He added that it would be opened to traffic at any time next month through the official inauguration of the Prime Minister. As part of this, Secretary of Road Transport and Highways Department Md. Nazrul Islam and Barisal Divisional Commissioner Saiful Islam Badal visited the bridge on Monday afternoon and exchanged views with the locals. Barisal Deputy Commissioner Jasim Uddin Haider, Patuakhali Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Kamal Hossain, Payra Bridge Project Director Mohammad Abdul Halim, Barisal District Superintendent of Police Mohammad Maruf Hossain, Patuakhali District Superintendent of Police Mohammad Shahidullah and other project officials were present. The meeting discussed preparations for the inaugural event, setting up of the inaugural stage and ensuring overall security of the event.
