Cracks in Bangabandhu Bridge widening

We are greatly surprised at the degree of indifference shown to the cracks on the Bangabandhu Bridge that were detected five years ago. Remaining unattended to, for that long a time without any repair done to fill in the breach, the cracks have widened threatening the life-span of the bridge and its load carrying capacity.
It's a major infrastructure linking the northern region of the country with the capital and the hinterland with the Chittagong port on the east. It's our longest bridge and a vital passage way for speedy transportation of goods and passengers through road and by rail. How such a grandiose project could be set up with design and construction faults unfolding through the cracks developing for the last five years is a matter for Hyundai Engineering and Construction Company Limited, the executing company, to answer and recompense for. But despite the findings of the first investigation team headed by Prof Jamilur Reza Chowdhury in 2006 sounding warning signals calling for urgent repair, the matter has been allowed to languish on the sidelines. The repair work is apparently stuck up in indecision about selecting a contractor. Three firms -- two Japanese and a Chinese -- have made finance offers which are under evaluation. The Communications Minister Syed Abul Hossain assures us that once repaired, the bridge would be okay. We take it as being based on expert opinion. Prof Jamilur Reza Chowdhury's recommendations for a separate railway bridge on the western side of the existing bridge merit consideration as it would effect a risk-free load management.
Meanwhile, we urge the expert panel of the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology(BUET) constituted in early July to carry out another investigation of the bridge to ascertain its latest condition to complete its work urgently, so that the job can accordingly be assigned to a selected firm. If Chowdhury's recommendations in 2006 were heeded the bridge would not be in such a bad shape as it is now. So let's not lament for the second time over risking the existence of the bridge by delaying repair once the new investigation process is completed.