Staff Correspondent:

The Bridges Division has begun removing the nuts and bolts from the now-disused railway line to widen the Jamuna Bridge.

The work began on Thursday afternoon from the eastern Tangail end of the bridge, Ahsanul Kabir Pavel, executive engineer of the Jamuna Bridge site office, confirmed on Friday morning.

Pavel said: “At the beginning of April, both the Sirajganj district administration and the Bridges Division sent separate letters requesting the removal of the railway track. Based on that, the removal work has started. Once the work is completed, all the materials will be handed over to the railway authorities.”

The letter stated that since a new railway bridge over the Jamuna River has been launched, the railway line on the Jamuna Bridge is not in use.  Therefore, it is necessary to remove the track to widen the road lanes of the bridge.

One lane of the bridge currently measures only 6.3 metres, while the minimum required width for a road lane is 7.3 metres.

As a result, during Eid, increased traffic pressure causes long tailbacks on the bridge, leading to difficulties for passengers and drivers.

Meanwhile, 3.5 metres of space on the bridge lies abandoned, which, if removed, would allow both lanes to be widened.

The bridge was inaugurated in 1998, featuring both road and rail links, establishing connectivity between Dhaka and the northwestern region of the country.

However, cracks appeared in the bridge in 2008, resulting in a reduced train speed limit that caused inconvenience for passengers.

To resolve the issue, the Jamuna Railway Bridge was constructed just 300 metres away.

It began carrying passengers for the first time on February 12.

Since then, train operations on the Jamuna Bridge have been fully suspended.