Payra Bridge is a

road bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

across the Burishwar River. It connects

Barisal Barisal ( or ; bn, বরিশাল, ), officially known as Barishal, is a major city that lies on the banks of the Kirtankhola river in south-central Bangladesh. It is the largest city and the administrative headquarter of both Barisal Di ...

and

Patuakhali Patuakhali ( bn, পটুয়াখালী ''Potuakhali'') is a town and district headquarter of Patuakhali District located on the southern bank of Laukathi river in the division of Barisal in Bangladesh. It is the administrative headquar ...

, linking the southwest of the country to the northern regions.

History

A student from Patuakhali wrote a letter to

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

Sheikh Hasina Sheikh Hasina Wazed (''née'' Sheikh Hasina ; ; bn, শেখ হাসিনা ওয়াজেদ, Shēkh Hasinā, , born 28 September 1947) is a Bangladeshi politician who has served as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh since January 2 ...

requesting to build a bridge over the river on which the bridge is located. After reading the letter, the Prime Minister assured to build the bridge. In 2012, the Department of Roads and Highways adopted a plan to build the Payra Bridge. At that time its construction cost was estimated at Tk 4.58 billion. The bridge is funded by

Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development The Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED), commonly known as the Kuwait Fund, is the State of Kuwait’s agency for the provision and administration of financial and technical assistance to developing countries. History and profile F ...

and

OPEC Fund for International Development The OPEC Fund for International Development (OPEC Fund) is an intergovernmental development finance institution established in 1976 by the member states of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). The OPEC Fund was conceived ...

. On March 13, 2013,

laid the foundation stone of the bridge. Two years later, the budget for the bridge was doubled by revising the project. One year later, on July 24, the Longjian Road and Bridge Company was commissioned to build the bridge. In 2018, the construction work was delayed due to an error in the design of the bridge. However, in 2019, the final construction cost of the bridge was fixed at Tk 14.46 billion and the design of the bridge was changed. The four-lane bridge was scheduled to be completed in June 2020. But due to the

COVID-19 epidemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identifie ...

, the work could not be completed on time. Later, the completion date was postponed to June 2022. The bridge was inaugurated on 28 October 2021.

Specifications

Payra Bridge is one of the first bridges in Bangladesh to have a bridge health monitoring system. The length of the bridge is 1.48 km. The bridge has been constructed at a height of 18.3 meters above the water level to facilitate navigation. Not more than one pillar of this bridge has been placed in the river.

Usage and benefits

Kuakata Beach Kuakata Beach ( bn, কুয়াকাটা সমুদ্র সৈকত) is a beach situated in Kuakata, Patuakhali District Patuakhali () is a district in South-central Bangladesh in the Barisal Division. This district is the main en ...

is easily accessible from the bridge. Besides, this bridge connects

Port of Payra The Port of Payra is a seaport located at Kalapara in Patuakhali, Bangladesh. It was established by an Act of Parliament in 2013. The port was officially inaugurated in 2016. It is located on the Ramnabad Channel near the Bay of Bengal. The port ...

with

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city i ...

References

External links

* {{Bridges in Bangladesh Road bridges in Bangladesh Extradosed bridges in Bangladesh Barishal Division Toll bridges in Bangladesh Bridges completed in 2021