Chittagong's 92-year-old Kalurghat Bridge, built over the Karnaphuli River, finally began its renovation work on Tuesday.
Bangladesh Railway authorities undertook this initiative to strengthen the bridge before resuming train services on the Dohazari-Cox's Bazar route.
As a result, the movement of train and vehicles have been suspended from the bridge since Tuesday morning.
Project officials said the renovation work is expected to be completed by October 31, which means the bridge will remain closed for three months.
During this period, vehicular and train services will be temporarily halted, but ferries will be available for river crossings, confirmed Eastern Railway Chief Engineer Abu Zafar Mia.
“Ferries are available for river crossings, and two additional ferries are ready for use during the renovation work. If any ferry faces any issues, an extra one will be deployed,” said Roads and Highways Department (RHD) Chittagong Executive Engineer Pintu Chakma.
As per the Roads and Highways Department sources, tolls have been set for vehicles crossing Kalurghat using the ferries. The charges for each truck or covered van are set at Tk565, medium-sized trucks at Tk450, large buses at Tk205, minibuses at Tk115, mini trucks at Tk170, small vehicles used for agricultural purposes at Tk135, microbuses, pickups, and jeeps at Tk90, autorickshaws, rickshaws, and battery-run rickshaws at Tk25, motorcycles at Tk10, and rickshaws, vans, and bicycles at Tk5.
Railway sources revealed that the renovation work for the bridge will cost around Tk55 crore.
The decision to renovate the bridge came based on the recommendations of a consulting team from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet).
Previously, the Kalurghat Bridge had been carrying loads of 10-ton locomotive engines on the Chittagong-Dohazari railway line with a crossing speed of only 10km per hour.
After the renovation, the engines would weigh between 12 to 15 tons, and the train speed would increase to 80-100km per hour.
Authorities believe that without renovating the bridge, Dohazari-Chittagong rail connectivity would not yield its full potential.
Railway engineers said before the latest renovation, the Kalurghat Bridge underwent major reconstruction work in 2004 at a cost of Tk10 crore. Another phase of renovation took place in 2012.
The Kalurghat Bridge was initially constructed in 1931 over the Karnaphuli River by Brunnik & Company as a direct rail link with Myanmar after World War I.
However, later, this railway line ended up to Dohazari.
The 638-metre Kalurghat Bridge was identified as vulnerable in 2001, leading to renovations carried out in two phases in 2004 and 2012 by railway authorities.
Despite these efforts, the bridge remains in a deteriorated condition, affecting train and vehicle movement over the bridge.
Passengers and drivers have been facing significant inconveniences due to the single-track train movement, causing delays and heavy traffic congestion.