Thursday, March 28, 2024

Cracks not repaired in 5yrs

Bangabandhu Bridge
Cracks not repaired in 5yrs
Experts fear this may reduce bridge’s lifespan, load carrying capacity
The lifespan and load carrying capacity of the country’s longest Bangabandhu Multipurpose Bridge are being compromised, as successive governments failed in the last five years to repair cracks formed on it, according to experts and government officials, reports The Daily Star.
The 4.8-kilometre bridge, connecting the country’s northern region with the capital over the Jamuna River, developed numerous cracks in 2006, just nine years after it had opened to public in 1997.
Experts said the cracks needed immediate repair, but till date the communications ministry could not select a contractor for the job, although it had invited tender thrice.
The Tk 4,000 crore bridge, with an expected lifespan of 100 years, was built by South Korean Hyundai Engineering and Construction Co Ltd.
But experts later found faults in Hyundai’s design and construction that had led to the emergence of the cracks.
Against such a backdrop, the communications ministry at a meeting with the experts at the Bridge Division on July 8 this year assigned an expert panel of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet) to carry out a thorough investigation of the bridge to learn about its latest condition.
Prof Jamilur Reza Chowdhury, who headed the first such investigation team in 2006 and recommended immediate repair detecting the design and construction flaws, told The Daily Star on Wednesday, “The real danger will be if water seeps into the cracks and affect the pre-stressing cables.”
If that happens, then both the lifespan and the load bearing capacity of the bridge might be compromised, he added.
He said the condition of the bridge has been deteriorating by the day, due to the delay in repair. “I recently heard some people saying that the cracks had expanded.”
The bridge allows motor vehicles and trains to get on it.
“I strongly recommended construction of a separate railway bridge on the western side of the existing bridge, since it is now unable to take the full load,” said Prof Chowdhury.
Khan Mahmud Amanat, a professor in the civil engineering department at Buet, who will be in the new investigation team, noted, “If the recommendations of Jamilur Reza Chowdhury were executed on time, the bridge would not be in such a bad condition now.”
About the delay in selecting a contractor for the repair work, Communications Minister Syed Abul Hossain told The Daily Star on Tuesday that his ministry is at the final stage of selecting a firm for the job.
“We are now evaluating finance offers from three firms — two Japanese and a Chinese —– and hope to issue work order by the end of this month,” he said adding that the bridge will be okay once the repairs are done.
“We were not in power when the cracks were detected. After assuming power we invited tender twice, but failed to find a suitable firm for the difficult job. This compelled us to go for the third tender which is going to be a successful one,” he said.
A Bridge Division official said the repair work may take three months to start, and a year to be finished.
The government cut vehicular speed and load limits by a half in 2006, in line with the recommendations of Prof Chowdhury led expert team.
The speed limit for trains had been 40 kilometres per hour in the original design, which was reduced to 20 km/h for passenger trains, and 16 km/h for freight trains, railway officials said.
Moreover, trains that use the bridge now cannot haul two engines, and freight trains must have empty containers in between loaded ones.
The maximum UDL [Uniformly Distributed Load] capacity of the bridge has also fallen.
“The UDL is now 43.7 kilo Newton [about 3.3 tons] per metre, which was higher in the original design,” Joint Director General of Bangladesh Railway Mohammad Shahjahan told The Daily Star last week.
Prof Amanat said, “The delay in repair will only reduce the lifespan of the bridge.”
Meanwhile, the government planned construction of two other railway bridges — one parallel to the Bangabandhu Bridge and the other near Bahadurabad Ghat — sensing that the Bangabandhu Bridge might be left out of the Trans-Asian Railway, Asian Highway, and other sub-regional connectivity routes due to its poor condition.

Courtesy of The Daily Star

Related News

Hajj registration extended till Jan 18

News Desk : dhakamirror.com The government, in a notice issued yesterday, extended the Hajj registration deadline for 2024 until January 18. It said aspiring Hajis would have to primarily deposit Tk 2.05 lakh, while the rest should be paid by February 29 for final registration. One has to pay Tk 5,78,840 under the general package, ... Read more

Dense fog disrupts communications across Bangladesh

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Cold and dense fog continued to disrupt life with road, air and waterways communication remaining suspended in the early hours of Tuesday as Bangladesh braces for this winter’s first cold wave likely to set in today. Authorities also confirmed until Tuesday the death of 14 people in cold-related diseases and road ... Read more

27,000 GPA 5 achievers not to get seat in public universities

Shahin Akhter Over 27,000 GPA 5 achievers in this year’s HSC and equivalent examinations cannot be admitted to the public universities due to fewer seats. A total of 92,595 examinees secured GPA 5 out of total 10,67,852 passed in the Higher Secondary Certificate examinations this year. But there are around 65,400 seats at the public ... Read more

Magnitude 5.5 earthquake jolts Dhaka, other parts of Bangladesh

News Desk : dhakamirror.com A magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck Bangladesh this morning, the United States Geological Survey said, with no immediate reports of damage. The earthquake jolted different parts of the country including Dhaka around in Ramganj of Cumilla at 9:35am, reports The Daily Star quoting Meteorologist Rubayet Kabir of Bangladesh Meteorological Department. The quake ... Read more

250cc Bajaj Pulsar N250 launched in Bangladesh

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Uttara Motors, the manufacturer and distributor of Bajaj motorcycles in Bangladesh, has recently launched The Pulsar N250 motorcycle. Pulsar N250 comes with a price tag of Tk339,999 and is available in three different colours. The motorcycle with a 250 cc oil-cooled engine has got dual channel antilock braking system (ABS). Indian ... Read more

HSC, equivalent exam results tomorrow

News Desk : dhakamirror.com The results of this year’s Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) and its equivalent examinations will be published tomorrow. The copy of the results will be handed over to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina tomorrow morning. Later in the day, the results will be officially announced by Education Minister Dipu Moni at a press ... Read more

Gold hits record with a bhori of Tk 106,376

News Desk : dhakamirror.com The jewelry makers of the country has increased 22-carat gold price by Tk 1,750 today. Tomorrow, the price of 22-carat gold will reach a historic high of Tk 106,376 per bhori. The new price is 1.67 percent higher than the previous all-time high of Tk 104,626 per bhori (11.664 grammes) recorded ... Read more

Gold’s price reaches a new peak

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Gold price in the country has surged to a record Tk1.04 lakh per bhori due to a rise in the rates of pure gold in the local market. The price of the best quality gold or one bar of 22-carat (11.664 grams) gold has been increased by Tk 1,750 to Tk104,626 ... Read more

Bangladesh permits 375cc domestically produced motorcycles

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Bangladesh government has allowed locally made motorcycles of up to 375cc along with the existing imported motorcycles of up to 165cc to facilitate the expansion of the local industrial sector. The Bangladesh Road Transport Authority, under the road transport and bridges ministry, on Wednesday issued a circular in this regard. It ... Read more

Four-day tourism festival begins in Dhaka

News Desk : dhakamirror.com A four-day long festival to boost local tourism will be launched on September 27 in Dhaka to celebrate World Tourism Day 2023. The Bangladesh Tourism Board under the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism will organise the festival titled ‘Bangladesh Festival’ at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre. The festival will be ... Read more

Bangladesh Railway launches luggage vans with intercity trains

News Desk : dhakamirror.com To significantly increase the supply of perishable items, agricultural and other goods, Bangladesh Railway (BR) combined luggage vans with intercity trains on Sunday. The first van was combined with Sylhet bound intercity train “Joyantika Express”. Jayantika Express transported 4,600 kg of goods from Dhaka to Sylhet as Bangladesh Railway’s first intercity ... Read more

Bangabandhu Tunnel: Government sets toll ranging from Tk200 to Tk1,000

News Desk : dhakamirror.com The government has set toll rates for using the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Tunnel built under the Karnaphuli River in Chattogram, ranging from 200 Tk for cars to 1,000 Tk for 4-axle trailers, which is slated for inauguration in September. The Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges issued a circular in ... Read more

516 people died in road accidents in June

News Desk : dhakamirror.com At least 516 people were killed and 812 more injured in 559 road accidents in June this year, said a Road Safety Foundation report published on Wednesday. Of the accidents, involvement of motorcycles was the highest 37.03 per cent and the highest 32.75 per cent people were killed in the motorcycle ... Read more

SSC exams to be held on full syllabus in February next year

News Desk : dhakamirror.com The Secondary School Certificate (SSC) and equivalent exams for 2024 will be held in the first week of February. It will be the first time the exams return to their traditional schedule after a four-year disruption caused by the pandemic. The exams will cover all subjects as per the full syllabus ... Read more

Eid-ul-Azha: BR to sell all advance tickets online from June 14

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Bangladesh Railway will start selling advance train tickets from 14 June to tackle the home rush on the occasion of the upcoming Eid-ul-Adha. The authorities will start selling tickets from June 14 at two different time slots to reduce the load on its server. The West Zone will start selling tickets ... Read more

A lucky escape

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Mocha makes landfall in Myanmar, weakens; causes no serious damage in Bangladesh Cyclone Mocha veered towards Myanmar and eventually made landfall there a few hours earlier than forecast and it did not cause massive damage that many in Bangladesh feared. Around 13,500 houses were affected by the cyclone in Cox’s Bazar, ... Read more

Mocha starts crossing Cox’s Bazar coast, wind speed up to 215 kmph: BMD

News Desk : dhakamirror.com The very severe cyclone Mocha has started crossing Cox’s Bazar-north Myanmar coast and is likely to move north-northeasterly direction further and complete crossing Cox’s Bazar-North Myanmar coast near Sittwe of Myanmar by afternoon or evening on Sunday, according to the latest bulletin of the Bangladesh Meteorological Department on Sunday morning. The ... Read more

Mocha approaches coast with 200 kmph speed

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Cyclone Mocha is approaching the coastal areas of Bangladesh and Myanmar with a maximum wind speed of 200 kmph, said the latest weather bulletin of the Bangladesh Meteorological Department. According to the bulletin, at 6:00pm, the very severe cyclonic storm was centred about 605km south-southwest of Chattogram port, 525km south-southwest of ... Read more

Cyclone Mocha intensifies into ‘extremely severe cyclonic storm’: IMD

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Mocha has intensified into an extremely severe cyclonic storm over east central Bay of Bengal and was 760km south southwest of Cox’s Bazar at 2:30am (local time) today, according to the Indian Met Department’s last update. It is moving north-northeastwards and likely to intensify further and cross Bangladesh and Myanmar coasts ... Read more

Bangladesh coastal areas are under danger signal number 8

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Bangladesh is ready to evacuate about a million people in Chattogram and Cox’s Bazar as the very severe cyclonic storm over the east central Bay of Bengal looked ferocious with rapid intensification and is forecast to begin to have impacts on the south-east coast of the country from Saturday night. The ... Read more