Staff Correspondent:

The government has decided to upgrade the Jamuna Bridge by expanding its width and removing the rail track, which is now being treated as abandoned due to establishing a new railway bridge nearby it, officials said.

The Bangladesh Bridge Authority (BBA) has invited proposals from seven leading engineering universities in the country to conduct a feasibility study for the expansion of the bridge’s lanes.

The chief engineer of BBA, Kazi Md Fardous, issued letters to the vice-chancellors of Buet, Ruet, Cuet, Kuet, Duet, IUT, and MIST yesterday, requesting feasibility study proposals for the bridge’s expansion, said Md Ahsanul Kabir Pavel, executive engineer of Jamuna Bridge.

The authorities have been asked to submit their proposals by June 3.

Upon receiving them, BBA plans to begin the feasibility study within this year, Pavel added.

Earlier, on March 16, Sirajganj Deputy Commissioner (DC) Md Nazrul Islam sent a formal proposal to the secretary of the Bridge Division under the Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges.

In his letter, the DC said that around 20,000 to 22,000 vehicles use the narrow lanes of Jamuna Bridge every day, adding that vehicle movement is often halted due to traffic, overtaking, and speeding, causing severe congestion.

The DC proposed expanding lanes of Jamuna bridge by removing the existing abandoned rail track.

The Jamuna Bridge, inaugurated in 1998, originally included a single rail track. However, rail operations on the bridge ceased following the inauguration of a dedicated rail bridge over the Jamuna river on February 12 this year.

Since then, the rail track on the original bridge has remained unused.

“Jamuna bridge is 18.2 metre wide, with 3.5 metres of it is used as rail tracks, leaving each two lanes of the bridge at a 6.3-metre width,” said Pavel.

He added that according to the international standards, minimum width of each two lanes should be 7.3 metre, but the Jamuna bridge has been operating with these narrow lanes over the years, making it quite impossible for smooth vehiclular movement.

“When the bridge opened in 1998, daily traffic was between 2,500 and 3,000 vehicles. By 2016, the average had risen to 16,000–17,000 vehicles per day, but now it’s around 20,000–22,000 daily. During Eid, traffic surges to over 50,000 vehicles per day, making traffic management on such narrow lanes almost impossible,” he added.

In comparison, other infrastructure projects such as the Padma Bridge have lane widths exceeding nine metres, while the Kodda Flyover and Nalka Bridge each have lane widths of over eight metres.

Due to the huge pressure of vehicles, Jamuna bridge authorities had earlier submitted letters to the BBA for expanding the bridge’s width in 2023 but no steps were taken.

“Finally, the interim government has taken the initiative to undertake this much-needed expansion,” Pavel added.

The Jamuna Bridge plays a vital role in connecting 22 districts in the northern and southern regions with Dhaka.