RHD set to complete work ahead of schedule

Roads and Highways Department (RHD) is set to complete the construction work of second Kanchpur, second Meghna and second Gumti bridges on Dhaka-Chittagong highway by December next, six months ahead of the schedule.
Officials said the construction work on substructures of the three important bridges has already been completed and work on superstructures has also started.
"Progress is highly satisfactory. So, we are hopeful of completing superstructures and entire construction work of three new bridges by December," said an official preferring not to be named.
All underwater works have also been completed, he added.
In April 2013, RHD launched the Tk 84.86-billion project to construct three new bridges over Shitalakhya, Meghna and Gumti rivers and retrofit old bridges known as Kanchpur, Meghna and Meghna-Gumti.
Cost of the 2nd Kanchpur bridge was fixed at Tk 13.04 billion while that of 2nd Meghna bridge at Tk 22.51 billion and 2nd Gumti bridge at Tk 24.11 billion.
DPP sets the target to complete the entire work by 2021 while construction work of new bridges was scheduled to be completed by June 2019 and retrofitting old bridges by December 2019. Retrofit work was set to start in January the same year.
After the completion of new and old bridges, Kanchpur bridge will be eight-lane while the two other bridges will be six-lane.
RHD sources said physical progress on the project is 40 per cent. But in the current fiscal year, progress is 79 per cent as of February 09.
They said the contractor has made desperate efforts to complete the project in time aiming to ease traffic on the country's prime highway.
All the seven piers of new Kanchpur bridge, retaining wall, new bridge connecting road, and diversion road construction were completed.
Besides, the construction work on flyover and upgradation of intersections on the Chittagong side is going on in full swing to ensure uninterrupted traffic to and from Dhaka, Chittagong and Sylhet highways.
Sources said piling work on 11 piers of 1.4-kilometre Meghna bridge and 16 piers of 2nd Gumti bridge were completed.
"As all the underwater works have been completed, it will be no problem for the contractor carrying out the rest of work in the coming days," said the official.
He, however, said during the retrofit work, vehicular movement on old bridges will remain suspended.
Road Transport and Bridge Minister Obaidul Quader inaugurated the superstructure work of Kanchpur bridge on February 16 while Meghna bridge on February 10. The first span on Gumti bridge will be set up on March o2.

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