Carpeting work on the Padma Bridge started in October

The last road slab was laid on the Padma Bridge on August 23. Then the Padma Bridge is connected to the Mawa-Jajira road. Carpeting work on concrete road slabs will be started to make the road of the bridge suitable for vehicular traffic. For this, 60 meter part of the road slab of the bridge has been carpeted experimentally. The Padma Bridge authorities have said that the carpeting work will start in full swing in the second week of October.

According to the Padma Bridge Authority, when the last span of the Padma Bridge was installed on December 10 last year, 6.15 km of steel bridge became visible. Then the work of laying concrete road slabs and railway slabs on the span of the bridge started. 2,918 roadway slabs and 2,959 railway slabs have been laid on the 6.15 km bridge.On 23 August, the last roadway slab was laid in the span on the pillars 12 and 13 on the Mawa side of the bridge. After that, 60 meters of experimental carpeting was done on the spans placed on the pillars 40 and 41 of the Jazira side. Carpeting could not be done due to rain and sleet. Now it will start in full swing. The contractor China Major Bridge Engineering Company (MBEC) is preparing to complete the carpeting work within three months.

According to project sources, all preparations for carpeting have been completed. A layer of waterproofing of two millimeters will be laid first on the concrete path created by laying the road slab. This is known as the ‘waterproof membrane’, which is a lot like a plastic cover. There will be several layers of carpeting on it. The total thickness will be about 100 millimeters.

On 12 December 2015, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the construction of the main bridge. According to the progress report of the project, the work of the entire project has been completed by 8.65 percent till August 31. The work of the main bridge has been 94.50 percent. The total budget for the construction of the bridge is Tk 30,193.39 crore. Till August 31, Tk 25,089.94 crore has been spent.

According to the latest revised project proposal, the project is expected to be completed by June next year. Even then, the duration of the project will be one year. However, if there is any defect in the bridge at that time, it is scheduled to be repaired and the contractor's debt will be paid.

The Padma Bridge has two floors. Vehicles will pass through it, trains will pass through it. The length of the main bridge is 6.15 km. With the launch of the bridge, communication with 21 districts in the south will be easier.

Shariatpur Deputy Commissioner. Parvez Hasan told Prothom Alo that the people of the south are waiting with an expectation that the bridge will be launched next June. The road infrastructure of Shariatpur is changing around the Padma Bridge. A project worth at least Tk 3,000 crore is underway to upgrade the two roads to four lanes, which will connect two land ports and three seaports.

Padma Bridge Project Director. Shafiqul Islam told Prothom Alo, "The carpeting work was delayed due to weather conditions. Hopefully, the carpeting work will start in full swing from next month. '