Padma Bridge Rail Link: Viaduct-2 construction completes before schedule

The construction work of Viaduct-2 in Padma Bridge Rail Link Project (PBRLP) has been completed before the stipulated time.

The work of segmental girder erection of Viaduct-2 has been completed 51 days ahead of the schedule with the placement of the last span of box girder on piers M01 and PN1.

Railways Minister Nurul Islam Sujan, Director General of Bangladesh Railway DN Mazumder, Additional Secretary of Bangladesh Railway and Project Director of PBRLP Golam Fakhruddin A Chowdhury, the Chief Coordinator Officer (CCO) of the international consultant consortium Major General Zahid, together with the Project Director of China Railway Group Limited (CREC) Wang Kun, witnessed the steady placement of the last span, said a press release on Tuesday.

Viaduct-2 of PBRLP, with a total length of 2589.2m, is a simply-supported segmental box girder viaduct with 65 spans. There are a total of 776 segments.

The contractor representative Wang Kun said that within a few weeks, except for the span which is affected by the PMBP, the last span of Viaduct-3 will also be installed. CREC has created a new Chinese speed record for the construction of bridge in Bangladesh.

“In June, the works prior to the track-laying of the Mawa-Bhanga section of PBRLP will be almost completed, and the track-laying works are about to start. If this goal can be achieved, it means within an effective working period of 2.5 years, a new rail line is built and opened to traffic,” said Wang Kun.

This will be a historic achievement and is seldom seen all over the world except in China, Kun added.

He said CREC has gone through many challenges including a one-and-a-half-year delay due to delay in land acquisition, design approval and delayed measurement and payment in the initial stage of the project, combined with the pandemic and the flood in 2020.

From the piling works to the full implementation of box girder erection work since April 30, 2020, the effective time for construction of the whole viaduct is only one and a half years, he added.