Chattogram plans Tk9cr bridge to replace collapsed one, 1 year deadline

The Chattogram City Corporation (CCC) will construct a new bridge with an estimated cost of Tk9 crore and a completion target of one year, over the Sheetal Jharna canal to replace the one that collapsed last week.

According to the CCC, the new bridge will be 15 metres long and 23 metres wide, making it larger and more modern than the previous structure.

Construction is expected to begin within a month of completing the tender process.

As an emergency project, tender evaluation and other procedures are scheduled to be completed within 20 days.

Project Director and CCC Supervising Engineer Jasim Uddin said, "The bridge will be constructed on a very busy road. Therefore, we want to finish the work within one year. The design has already been completed."

A section of the over-45-year-old bridge in Chattogram's Oxygen area collapsed around 6am on Thursday (7 August), splitting the structure in two and halting traffic on one side.

Vehicles are currently using the remaining side with limited access and risk.

The bridge was a key connector between Gate-2 of the city and the Oxygen area, serving daily commuters, industrial traffic, and several educational institutions.

Bayezid Bostami Road, where the bridge is located, is a major entry route to the city from the northern part of Chattogram, as well as Rangamati and Khagrachhari.

An estimated 50,000 to 70,000 vehicles use the road each day.

City Mayor Shahadat Hossain said the bridge collapsed as soil beneath it eroded. He added that the damage was linked to recent canal expansion works under a waterlogging mitigation project.

The widening of the Sheetal Jharna canal, which helped reduce urban flooding this year, increased water flow and eroded the soil supporting the bridge, ultimately weakening its structure.