The 38th span of the Padma Bridge was installed on Saturday afternoon eight days after setting up the previous one, making 5,700 meters or 5.7 kilometers stretch of the main structure visible.

Dewan M Abdul Kader, executive engineer of the Padma Multipurpose Bridge, confirmed the news.

The span was installed on first and the second pillars at the Mawa-end in Munshiganj, he said

A specialised floating crane picked up the span from Mawa’s Kumarbhog Construction Yard on Saturday morning and transported it to the designated poles in afternoon, according to the official.

Earlier on November 12, the 37th span of the bridge was installed, bringing a total of over 5.55km of the huge structure into view.

Meanwhile, after the installation of the 38th span, the 39th span (2-D) will be installed on the Piers 10 and 11 on November 23, the 40th span (2-E) on the Piers 11 and 12 on December 2, and the 41st span (2-F) on the Piers 12 and 13 on December 10.

The 6.15-km long double-layered bridge will have a total of 41 spans which would be installed on 42 piers — 21 piers at Mawa-end and other 21 piers at Jajira-end as all the piers have already become visible.

The multi-purpose Padma Bridge is expected to be opened in 2021.