The 49 years old Golamari bridge on Khulna’s Mayur River has turned risky due to lack of maintenance. Moreover, construction of an approach road and piling for a new bridge have made it more hazardous.
Khulna Roads and Highways Department feared that the bridge could collapse any moment. The authority has sent letters to Khulna Metropolitan Police (KMP) and Khulna City Corporation (KCC) to bar heavy transport from using the bridge.
The Golamari bridge, built in 1965, is one of the main entry points of the Khulna city. It connects Khulna with other major cities such as Dhaka, Chittagong, Shariatpur, Faridpur, Mongla, Bagherhat, Barisal, Gopalganj, Satkhira, and many others. More than one thousand vehicles use the bridge to go in and out of the city everyday. Khulna University transports also ply through this bridge.
Under this circumstance, construction of a new bridge alongside the old one began in February with the piling work. But it dislocated a significant chunk of land around it. Besides, land has also been dug up to make approach road for the under-construction park on the bank of Mayur River. Added to that is the impact of monsoon erosion. All these factors have made the bridge even more vulnerable to fatal accidents.
After the KMP and KCC letters, signboards have been erected on two sides asking heavy vehicles to refrain from using the bridge. Khulna University is also no more using the bridge as a precaution.
Executive Engineer of Khulna Roads and Highways Department, Aliul Hossain said, temporary measures had been taken to make the bridge suitable for light vehicles. But it could collapse if heavy vehicles use it frequently. The repair work would take 15 days and Truck Owners’ Association had been requested to use an alternative route.
KCC Panel Mayor-1 (acting) Anisur Rahman Biswas said, as part of safety measures, barposts would be built on both sides of the bridge to restrict heavy vehicles.