Communication snapped as bridge approach collapses in Mirzapur

The approach road on one side of Roail Bridge in Mirzapur upazila of Tangail collapsed on Thursday, snapping direct road communication in southern areas of the upazila.

The Roads and Highways Department (RHD) completed construction of Mirzapur-Warshi-Balia road and the bridge on a canal in 2017.   

Besides serving internal communication in the upazila, the road is used by long-route heavy vehicles as an alternative way to Dhaka and Manikganj districts when there is traffic congestion on Dhaka-Tangail highway. 

"Floodwater was receding for the last few days, creating huge current in the canal. Soil from the south side approach of the bridge started moving away on Thursday morning and a large portion collapsed in the afternoon," said Shamsul Islam of Roail village.

Months after inauguration of the road, locals raised allegation of low-quality work, including use of poor construction materials, and a parliamentary probe body inspecting the road on March 20 in 2018 found the allegation true. 

During the recent prolonged flood, a large portion of the road was submerged and it got badly damaged at several places including Postkamuri, Rajnagar, Ghugi and Roail due to strong current of floodwater. 

The damage and finally the collapse of the approach road snapped movement of vehicles on the road, causing problem for several thousand people, said SM Shamsul Alam Shahid, a resident of Postkamuri village in Mirzapur.

​He urged the authorities to repair the road and the bridge approach as soon as possible. 

Several hired motorcycle drivers including Muktar Hossain, Mozibor Rahman and Rubel Miah said their earning from carrying passengers on the road stopped after damage of the road and the bridge. 

A team of RHD officials comprising Md Mainul Hossain, additional chief engineer of Mymensingh region of RHD, superintending engineer (maintenance) Abul Kalam Azad, Md Moniruzzaman, executive engineer of RHD in Tangail, and Enamul Kabir, sub-assistant engineer of RHD in Mirzapur, visited the damaged spots on Friday.

Later, the repair work of the collapsed approach road of the bridge started on Saturday morning by dumping sandbags.

"We started temporary repair of the approach of the bridge and the damaged portions of the road for continuation of vehicular movement through the road. Permanent repair work will be done after making assessment of the damage when the flood ends," Md Moniruzzaman, executive engineer of RHD in Tangail, told The Daily Star.