Renovation work of historic Kalurghat Bridge in Chattogram has been started to make it suitable for heavy trains and vehicles. The renovation work will be completed in eight months at a cost of Tk 43 crore.
Kalurghat bridge is now the main obstacle to start the Chattogram to Cox's Bazar train service. Tender for the renovation of the Kalurghat Bridge was issued last April.
The tender was opened on May 18. After all the process, Max Infrastructure Limited was appointed as the contractor. The Dhaka-Cox's Bazar train service is scheduled to be inaugurated in September. As such, the contractor will get three months to renovate the main structure of the bridge.
A lot of changes will be made during the bridge renovation works. There will also be dedicated walkways at separate pedestrian crossings. Which will be done on the right side of the crossing from the city part.
According to the sources of railway engineering department, the railway connection project in the tourist city of Cox's Bazar will expire in December this year. However, on May 16, Railway Minister Nurul Islam Sujan visited Cox's Bazar and announced the inauguration of train service from Dhaka to the tourist city in September.
As 15 per cent of the project remains to be completed and the laying of 20 km of track has not been completed, the opening of the train service within the scheduled time has been hampered. Moreover, the main obstacle to start train service directly to Cox's Bazar was the expiry of the almost century-old Kalurghat bridge.
Due to the delay in the construction of a new bridge to replace the old bridge at Kalurghat, the railways appointed a group of teachers from Bangladesh University of Engineering (BUET) as consultants.
A proposal of at least Tk 60 crore has been made on the advice of BUET to run heavy trains through the existing bridge till construction of the new bridge. A number of contracting firms participated when tenders were called as per the proposal. On Sunday, the Railway Eastern Region Authority signed the contract by selecting Max Infrastructure Limited as the lowest bidder.
Chief Engineer of Eastern Railway Md. Abu Zafar Mia said, "The contractor will renovate the bridge as per the contract within the next eight months. However, for the time being, Max will give priority to bridge spanning and railway track renovation to establish a direct train link to Cox's Bazar by September. The organization will complete the road communication path, walkway and other works within the stipulated time.
Bangladesh University of Engineering (BUET) expert team has worked as a consulting firm to verify the feasibility of Kalurghat bridge renovation. Experts report that the spans of the bridge are outdated. Also, the picture of all parts including spans, footings of the bridge shows that out of the original 19 spans of the bridge, the condition of 8 is very poor. They are dilapidated and shows worn out condition.
It may take till December to complete the renovation works. Traffic will be kept normal by running two ferries during bridge renovation.
Earlier, the Railways had announced to stop the movement of trains and vehicles through the Kalurghat Bridge in June this year due to the need for bridge repairs. However, due to the delay in signing the contract with the contractor and the upcoming Eid al-Adha, the movement of general vehicles on the bridge is not being stopped for the time being.
After signing the contract, the contractor has already started the installation of ancillary equipment in the bridge area. After Eid, the main work of repairing the bridge will be started by stopping the traffic. As an alternative, the road and highways department has already constructed a ferry jetty in the part adjacent to the Karnaphuli river bridge.
The Kalurghat Rail Bridge was commissioned in 1931. In 1962, along with railways, roads were also opened. The current speed of trains on this dilapidated bridge is 10 kmph. When the Dohazari-Cox's Bazar railway line starts, the maximum speed of the train will be 80 to 100 km.
As there is no alternative bridge, trains will have to run at least 40 km speed after repairing the Kalurghat bridge. If the bridge is renovated as recommended by BUET, it will be possible to run trains without risk for at least 10 years. There is no alternative to the construction of Kalurghat Bridge in the future to speed up the Dhaka-Chattogram-Cox's Bazar railway line.
