Weak Bailey bridges put commuters at risk

Thirteen worn-out Bailey bridges across rivers intercepting different important roads belonging to the Roads and Highways department (RHD) in the district make vehicular movement highly risky.

The bridges were set up on temporary basis 20-30 years ago as replacement of old and vulnerable RCC bridges made during the British or Pakistan periods, RHD sources said.

Those are at Hortukitola on Nilphamari-Domar road, Anandobabu, Kachukata, Duhuli and Hafizia on Nilphamari-Jaldhaka road, Auliakhana on Jaldhaka-Domar road, Modhupur on Saidpur-Taraganj road, Bahagli on Kishoreganj-Taraganj road, Gomnati and Motukpur on Domar-Chilahati road, Nautara and Thutardanga on Sutibari-Sardarer Haat road, and Ramganj on Ramganj-Mirganj road.

A Bailey bridge is designed for taking 5-10 tonnes of load but 10-wheeler trucks usually carrying 50-60 tonnes often pass through them, relevant sources said.

Two weeks ago, a 10-wheeler truck loaded with 65 tonnes of stones got stuck in the loose steel plates of Hortukitola Bailey bridge, snapping vehicular movement on Nilphamari-Panchagarh road, said Tapon Kumar Roy, chairman of Polashbari union parishad (UP).

A month ago, a motorcyclist received serious injuries after falling from Nautara Bailey bridge as its plates had got displaced, Mosharaf Hossain, chairman of Nautara UP in Dimla upazila.

During the political unrest in 2013, Jamaat-Shibir activists displaced steel plates and unscrewed nuts and bolts of the Bailey bridges at Hortukitola, Duhuli, Auliakhana and Hafizia, making them virtually unusable.

Tanvir Siddiquee, executive engineer of RHD in Nilphamari, said construction of new RCC bridges to replace the risky Bailey bridges and renovation of a few of them will be done in phases, if fund is available.

“Work is on to replace most vulnerable 50-metre-long and 7.3-metre-wide Hortukitola Bridge on Nilphamari-Domar road as the government allocated Tk 3.16 crore to construct a permanent RCC bridge there,” he added.