36th span installed on Padma Bridge, over 5.4 km now visible

The 36th span of the Padma Bridge has been installed this morning five days after setting up the previous one, making a 5.4 km stretch of the main structure visible.

"After installation of the 36th span around 9:42am, we are hopeful that the rest five spans are likely to be set up by December 10 and through this, the construction of 6.15-kilometre long bridge will be completed," said Dewan M Abdul Kader, executive engineer of the Padma Multipurpose Bridge.

He said the 37th span will be installed on the bridge on November 11 while the 38th span on November 16 and the 39th on November 23.

The 40th span will be installed on December 2, and the remaining one will be installed on December 10, added the official.

Meanwhile, the 36th span bearing the number '1B' was put on the pillars no. 2 and 3 at Mawa point as the span was near the Mawa point.

A specialised floating crane picked up the span from Mawa's Kumarbhog Construction Yard on Thursday morning and transported it to the designated poles at 12:30pm, according to the official.

Earlier, on October 31, the 35th span of the Padma Bridge was installed, bringing a total of over 5.2 kilometers of the huge structure into view.

The 6.15-km long double-layered bridge will have a total of 41 spans which would be installed on 42 poles -- 21 poles at Mawa site and other 21 poles at Jajira point as all the poles have already become visible.

The multi-purpose Padma Bridge is expected to be opened in 2021.