Traffic movement halted as bridge deck breaks
Traffic movement on Lalmonirhat-Burimari highway came to a halt as three steel plates of the deck of the Bailey bridge over the Swarnamati River at Aditmari upazila of the district collapsed yesterday.
A good number of vehicles, mostly passenger buses and goods-laden trucks, were stranded on both sides of the bridge.
An official of the Roads and Highways Department (RHD) said three plates of the bridge connecting the district headquarters with four upazilas of the district and Burimari land port--collapsed in the morning under the heavy pressure of overloaded trucks.
Sahidar Rahman, 50, a bus passenger, said the passengers were crossing the bridge on foot because there is no movement of vehicles on the bridge.
“I have been waiting near the Swarnamati Bridge to go to Bogra with my loaded truck since morning,” said truck driver Sabedul Islam.
Local businessman Farhad Hossain Sumon, 42, said this Bailey bridge was set up there for vehicular movement as the bridge over the Swarnamati River was declared risky. “We have been demanding repair of the vulnerable bridge or construction of a new one, but there has been no response from the authorities concerned,” he said.
Sub-Divisional Engineer of RHD in Lalmonirhat, Manowarul Islam, said RHD officials were repairing the Bailey bridge but they were facing problems due to rough weather.
“Caution notices were hung on both sides of the bridge stating that vehicles weighing over five tonnes would not be allowed to cross, but nobody paid heed. Vehicles of over 30 tonnes continued to cross ,” he said, adding that a new bridge would soon be constructed there.
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