39th span of Padma bridge installed

The 39th span of the Padma bridge was installed yesterday, making 5.85km stretch of the main structure visible.

Only two more spans are needed to complete the 6.15-kilometre long bridge, said officials concerned.

The "2D" span was installed over the pillars 10 and 11 at Munshganj's Mawa end within six days of installation of the 38th span, said Dewan Abdul Kader, executive engineer and project manager (main bridge).

A specialised floating crane took the span to the designated poles from Mawa's Kumarbhog Construction Yard at around 9am. The procedure was completed at 12:22pm with no glitches amid favourable weather, the engineer added.

With this, a total of four spans were installed in November as per target.

Officials said they have the target to install the rest two spans by December 16, the Victory Day.

The construction of Padma bridge started in 2014 and the first span was installed on September 2017.

The main bridge, which is being constructed with concrete and steel, will be two-storied. China Major Bridge Engineering Company (CMBEC) is constructing the bridge, while another Chinese company Sinohydro Corporation is working for Padma river training.