Fourth span of Padma Bridge installed

The fourth span of the Padma Bridge has been installed between pillars 40 and 41, rendering a total 600 metres of the massive infrastructure project visible.

The span installation began at 7am on Sunday, project engineers said.

The 150 metre span, which weighs 3,140 tonnes, was placed on top of the piers at 8am.

The first span of the bridge was installed on Sept 30 of last year between pillars 37 and 38 on the Jazira side.

The second was installed on Jan 28 between pillars 38 and 39, while the third was placed between pillars 39 and 40 on Mar 11.

The fourth span of the Padma Bridge has been installed between pillars 40 and 41 on the Jazira end of the bridge, making 600 metres of the country’s largest physical infrastructure project visible.

The sixth span is to be installed between pillars 2 and 3 at the Mawa end of the bridge. A total of 41 spans are to be placed along the 6.15 kilometres of the bridge on 42 pillars.

The government is aiming to finish construction work on the bridge by the end of 2018. Bangladesh has signed a $2.76 billion dollar loan deal with China’s EXIM Bank to implement the rail line project on the bridge.