Eighth span on Padma Bridge installed at Zajira point

The eighth span has been installed on the Padma Bridge at its Zajira point making a 1,350 metre stretch of the bridge visible.

The span was installed on the 34th and 35th piers around 7:30 am on Friday, said Md Humayun Kabir, an engineer in the Bridges Division.

"We hope to install a few more spans before the end of this month. Almost 75 percent of bridge has been completed. The remaining spans will be installed this year to make the bridge visible."

The span was hauled by a floating crane to Zajira point on Wednesday from the specialised workshop jetty at Kumarbhog for the installation, said Humayun. But the span could not be installed on the pillars on Thursday due to technical difficulties.  

The first span on the bridge was installed on Sept 29, 2017 while the second one was assembled on 28 Jan, 2018. The third, fourth and fifth spans were installed between March and June, 2018 while the sixth and seventh spans were set up earlier this year.

Another span was installed on the fourth and fifth pillars at the Mawa point last year, the engineer said.

"That span was constructed for installation on the sixth and seventh pillars. But complexities over its design meant that the pillars couldn't be constructed. As a result, the span was temporarily placed on the fourth and fifth pillars."

The span will be moved once the seventh and eighth pillars are erected.

The 6.15 kilometre-long bridge will have a total of 41 spans, each 150 metres long. In the meantime, 21 pillars are visible.