The 100 years old bridge
The Hardinge Bridge is a wonderful sign of bridge engineering in the world. Situated at Paksey in the administrative district of Pabna, the construction of the bridge by the then British Government through truss began in 1910, though it was proposed at least 20 years earlier. It was completed in 1912, and trains started moving on it in 1915.
Engineer-in-chief Sir William Gales said, the bridge is a sign of wonderful design. The bridge with two-lane broad gauge lines and a footpath separated by steel structure is about 5,900 feet long and it could be a good source of revenue for the country’s tourism sector. The eastern outskirt of the bridge lands on the Paksey Railway Station.
The station is 60 feet above the surface, and from there a visitor will be charmed by the beauty of its structural design and by the vast tract of greenery land on all sides. And at the same time, he will be speechless at the sad end of the once strongly flowing Padma River. There is no water in the river on which is the Hardinge Bridge. The Padma is the victim of Farakka Dam in India.
The bridge has already passed one hundred years on March 4 this year and is still capable of taking the load for many more years, said the Bangladesh Railways. Special care is taken for the maintenance by the skilled and experienced engineers, officers and employees posted in the Paksey Division.
Ameer Hamzah
Dhaka
