Ctg Correspondent:

A section of a decades-old road bridge over a canal in Chattogram’s Oxygen area has collapsed, splitting the structure in two, halting traffic on one side of the road.

The bridge over the Sheetal Jharna canal in Oxygen area near Star Ship Lane collapsed around 6am on Thursday (August 7) as soil beneath the structure eroded, Chattogram City Corporation Mayor Shahadat Hossain said.

The bridge served as a crucial connector between Gate-2 of the city and Oxygen area, facilitating daily commutes for a large number of people. Vehicles from nearby industrial zones and several important educational institutions heavily rely on this road.

As a result of the collapse, long tailbacks have been created in the area, resulting in suffering for commuters.

The mayor, after inspecting the site, stated that the 6-meter-wide bridge, which is over 45 years old, collapsed due to recent canal expansion works carried out under a waterlogging mitigation project.

The widening of the Sheetal Jharna canal, although beneficial in reducing urban flooding this year, had an unintended consequence— the soil beneath the bridge was eroded by increased water flow, weakening the structure.

Blaming insufficient funding from the government, the mayor said, “The current 6-metre bridge needs to be expanded to 15 metres, which would require approximately Tk9 crore.”

The mayor said as they are not receiving the necessary budget, they will proceed with urgent reconstruction using the tax money deposited at the city corporation.