Work on railway track installation on the Padma Bridge may begin this month.
Railway Minister Nurul Islam Sujan gave the hit on Friday after inspecting the Padma Bridge rail link project at Mawa in Munshiganj.
“There was a major obstacle to the construction work on the bridge. We’ll sit with the bridge authorities on Saturday. We are hopeful that we’ll get permission to start the work within this week or month,” he said.
The railway minister said the work in the Dhaka-Bhanga-Jashore rail link project has progressed 61 percent. The project will be completed by June 30, 2024.
Officials said the rail line has been divided into three sections – Dhaka-Mawa, Mawa-Bhanga and Bhanga-Jashore.
“The work from Dhaka to Mawa has progressed 64.08 percent, from Mawa to Bhanga 80.02 percent, from Bhanga to Jashore 91 percent. There are plans to connect the railway line from Dhaka to Bhanga with the Padma Bridge in June 2023,” he added.
Padma Bridge and Rail Link Project Construction Supervision Consultant Chief Coordinator Major General FM Zahid Hossain said, “It will take six months to complete the construction work of the Padma bridge rail link project from the day of starting. During this time we will monitor whether the rail movement vibration affects vehicle movement or not. An expert panel has been appointed for this.”
“According to the bridge authority, there will be no effect of vibration as per the design. By testing we will see if there is actually any effect,” he added.
When asked whether there will be a ban on the movement of vehicles on the road during the railway work on the bridge, FM Zahid Hossain replied, “There is no such barrier. If the vibration is high, the speed limit of vehicles can be slowed down if necessary. The matter will be decided by the suggestion of the consulting team.”
Railway Ministry DG DhirendraNathMajumder, Project Director Mohammad Afzal Hussain, Brigadier General AbulKalam Azad among others were present during the railway minister’s visit.