The second span of the much-awaited Padma Bridge will likely be installed later this month, Project Director Engineer Shafiqul Islam has said. A recent report on the project's progress revealed that Tk6,066 crore had been spent on the main project as of September 30. The budget for the main bridge's construction is Tk12,133 crore while the total cost for the project is Tk28,793 crore. Forty-nine percent of the main bridge's construction work has been completed, while the overall progress is 47%, the report said. Engineer Shafiqul said they were "fighting through strong currents and high tides to finish the constriction as scheduled." "We have already tackled difficulties posed by soil structure in the riverbed and the monsoon weather. Piling continues on both sides of the river,” he added. Project officials have confirmed that the remaining spans of the bridge will be installed as per schedule. Construction of six pillars, from number 37 to 42, is at the final stages. Construction of pillars 39 and 40 are also nearing completion. Shafiqul, the project director, said: “Padma Bridge's colour will be golden. Red and green lights -- the colours of Bangladeshi flag -- will be installed on it. “The spans will be installed at a 50-feet height from the water level." Sources have confirmed that five load tested spans are ready to be installed any time. A specialist team from the Bangladesh Army is also present at the site to supervise the project. Seventy-five piles among the total 240 have been installed. Sixteen among the 32 transaction piers located on both sides of the riverbank have been completed. On the Janjira point of the connecting bridge, 186 out of 193 piles have been installed so far. At Mawa, seven out of 172 piles of the connecting bridge have been installed. After the first span was installed on September 30, Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader and Shafiqul had said that it was quite feasible to install a span each month.
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They had said that the construction of a pillar at Janjira point was almost complete, and that if one pillar was constructed each month, then spans could also be installed on them on regular intervals. Based on these statements, many expected that the second span of the bridge would be installed last month. However, the installation was delayed due to technical difficulties in construction of the 39th and 40th pillars. Construction of the bridge's main structure began on December, 2015. The bridge will have 42 pillars, and 40 of them will be installed in the river. Each pillar will be installed through six pilings averaging at 127 meters below the ground. Each pillar will be 150 metres away from the next one. The 6.15-km bridge will have 41 spans. The Padma Bridge will have a final length of 9km with the two connecting bridges on each side.