Kalurghat Bridge reopens today

CHATTOGRAM, Oct 26: The century-old Kalurghat Bridge will be reopened to traffic on Sunday after 14 months' of repair, said Bangladesh Railway (BR) Chief Engineer Abu Jafar Mia on Saturday.

During renovation traffic movement on the bridge remained totally suspended for 14 months.

During this period, vehicles crossed the river using ferry service introduced by the Roads and Highways Department.

On July 18, BR appointed Max Infrastructure Limited as the contractor for renovation of Kalurghat Bridge.

Following tender process, Max Infrastructure Limited was selected as the lowest bidder and it signed the contract with BR (East Zone).

The contractor prioritised the repair of the spans and railway tracks  to restore  direct railway link with Cox's Bazar. Concurrently, the company completed other works such as the road for vehicles and walkways within the stipulated time.

The Tk 43 crore project seeks to make the bridge suitable for heavy trains and vehicles. Te contractor completed the work for movement of train in three months. 

Dhaka -Cox's Bazar train service was introduced in December.

The Roads and Highways Department(RHD)  introduced ferry service at Kalurghat near the ageold Railway Bridge on July 28.

The Kalurghat Railway Bridge, once the provided the only link between the southern region of Chattogram division on the bank of the river Karnaphuly with the rest of the country. 

The 239-m bridge was built as a simple railway bridge of steel structure between Janalihut and Gomdandi railway stations in 1930. 
It was commissioned for running trains in Chattogram-Dohazari section in 1931. 

Thirty-one years after its inauguration, considering the suffering of the people it was modified with decks and carpeting and turned into a rail-cum- road-bridge in 1962.

It became dilapidated needing the renovation.

The government took the Tk 11,560.77 crore project for construction of a new rail-cum-road bridge over the River Karnaphuli at Kalurghat beside the existing old bridge to ensure smooth and uninterrupted communication between Chattogram and Cox's Bazar. The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) approved the project at he 3rd ECNEC meeting of the current fiscal year (FY25) and the 2nd of the interim government held at the Chief Adviser's Office in the capital chaired by Chief Adviser Dr Muhammad Yunus.

The Ministry of Railways will implement the rail-cum-road bridge project to be implemented by December 2030.  The main objective of the project is to ensure smooth and uninterrupted rail communication between Chattogram and Cox's Bazar and also to link it with the Trans Asian Railway.