High toll fixed for Padma Bridge to open in June

Mahfuz Emran: Authorities have made all preparations for the inauguration of the dream Padma Bridge next June. Work is now underway to mark the road with nameplates and murals. Besides, the work of the main bridge has already been completed 98 percent. Two 40-foot-tall murals are being erected at the edge of Mawa Jazira. The two murals will feature portraits of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Preparations are also in full swing for carpeting the rest of the connecting bridge from the Mawa end of the Padma Bridge.
Padma Bridge Project Director Shafiqul Islam told, “We have made all preparations for the inauguration of the Padma Bridge next month. Special preparations are underway now.
Besides, the nameplates, murals and other works of the bridge are very small works. Which will all be over in the next 2 weeks. So far, the progress of the main Padma bridge work is 98 percent. And the overall progress is 93 percent.
Asked about the progress of the pitch casting work, he said, “The pitch casting work on the main bridge has been completed. The bridge is now fully ready for traffic. Asked when the inauguration could take place, he said, “We have made all the preparations for the inauguration at the end of June. Now, when the government announces, we will explain the bridge.
The work of installing lights on the bridge was completed last month. Work is now underway to provide electricity to the lampposts. This work is also expected to be completed this week. All that is left is to install the meter and connect it. The bridge will be illuminated later this month, officials said. Although now the test is going on somewhere.
It is also learned that the work of placing sign, signal and marking is left on the bridge. It will start on May 20. And the work of installing steel railings on the boundary walls of the bridge is also left. It will also start from May 20.
Meanwhile, with the money from the Padma Bridge project, rail movement has been arranged on the bridge. Although the laying of the railway line has not started yet. The bridge authority will explain the bridge to the railway authorities for laying the railway line after the vehicles are started through the Padma bridge. The bridge will be handed over to the railway authorities next July. It is learned that it will take about 6 months to lay the railway line on the bridge.
The bridge department has proposed a preliminary toll for vehicular traffic on the Padma Bridge. According to the preliminary proposal, toll for motorbike crossing at Padma Bridge is Tk 100 (currently Tk 60 on ferry), car Jeep toll is Tk 750 (now Tk 500 on ferry), toll at pickup crossing is Tk 1200 (currently Tk 800 on ferry), Toll for microbus crossing is Tk 1300 (currently Tk 60 for ferry).
Toll for small bus crossing is Tk 1400 (currently Tk 950 for ferry), toll for medium bus crossing is Tk 2000 (now Tk 1350 for ferry), big bus toll is Tk 2400 (now ferry which is Tk 1560), small truck toll to be paid (up to 5 tons).
Medium truck (8-11 ton toll has to pay Tk 2800 (currently Tk 1650 on ferry) and truck (up to 3 axles) toll has to pay. The length of Padma bridge (main bridge) is 6.15 km. The two-way flyover (viaduct) is 3.6 km. The total length of the bridge is 9.63 km. The cost of the Padma Bridge project has been estimated at Tk 30,193.39 crore.
With the launch of the dream Padma Bridge, the transportation system of the people in the south-west will be uninterrupted. Due to which the suffering of people at Mawa Ferry Ghat and Dauldia-Paturia Ferry Ghat will be reduced.
Note that the construction work of the Padma Bridge started in December 2014. The Padma Bridge became visible on September 30, 2016 with the installation of the first span on poles 37 and 38.
After that, by placing 41 spans of 150 meters length on 42 pillars one by one, the 6.15 km long Padma bridge became fully visible on December 10, 2020.
China Major Bridge Engineering Company (MBEC), a Chinese contractor, is working on the construction of the main bridge, and Sino Hydro Corporation, another company in the country, is working on river governance. Abdul Momen Limited of Bangladesh has constructed two connecting roads and infrastructure. The bridge is made of concrete and steel.