January 3, 2023 – After a few hours sleep, we head out to see one of Bangladesh’s Mega Projects – the Padma Bridge and have a chance to spend time with Dr. Sufian Khondker, the conference chair and the person responsible for our invitations, and with Dr. Kamal Laksiri, one of the Region 10 Governors.
Just saying – the Padma Multipurpose Bridge is amazing. It’s a four-lane toll highway over a single-track railroad – all over the Padma River, which can have velocities of up to 14 ft/s during flood season. It’s a $3 billion project, all funded by the Bangladesh government. Even in the fog, it’s easy to see how massive this project is. During our visit, they were working on punch-list items. After we stopped on the top of the bridge, we drove below to see the revetments protecting the bridge during flood season (selfie taken at the secondary revetment not the primary) and then to meet with the engineering team.
And my EWRI hat travels. Today, it is visiting the secondary revetment for the river training works. (that’s the backup barrier to protect the banks from eroding)
A side note – this is a toll bridge that doesn’t allow motorcycles or pedestrians. So people with a flat-bed truck offer their services to drive motorcycles and their riders across the bridge. And others drive their cows in their flatbed. Human ingenuity will create a solution to the problem and allow people to use the bridge. Second side note, this is the first time I had been on a road in Bangladesh that had lane markings that people respected. Most city streets have pedestrians, animals, tuk-tuks (rickshaws with a single engine), city buses, vans, and private cars, and few traffic signals or police officers directing traffic. While we were freaking out about buses being 3 inches from the side of the van, no one else was phased. And it works because people cooperate. Horns are simply there to tell people where you are – not to offer an opinion of driving, like we do in the US.
It was obvious how proud the engineering team is of the work that they have accomplished on this bridge. Addressing the flows, the scour, the combination of road and rail – it’s a serious engineering feat that many thought could not be done.
Afterward, we headed back to the hotel for a very short break before going to visit the Civil Engineering Department and the Institute for Water and Flood Management (IWFM) at the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET). BUET and IWFM were sponsors of the IPWE conference and I’m always happy to visit another university and learn. My first highlight was touring the labs and seeing how modern their equipment was – they would be so disappointed to see what I have. I admit it – I wanted to stay and work with the new equipment. The second highlight was talking to the faculty and students. The work that they are doing is truly groundbreaking as Bangladesh is on the front lines of population booms, climate change, and the need to provide a healthy environment for its citizens. However, I never have a good response for when someone tells me that they spent time googling me. “Thank you” is just weird. Time to check my Google® profile and find out what comes up first! The students were thrilled to meet Maria and talk about their research and hear about what ASCE is doing. Lots of selfies and laughs! Then a brief press conference about our interactions with BUET and about IPWE and off to a closing meeting with the Vice Chancellor. As EWRI president-elect, I see lots of opportunities for us to collaborate with BUET. They are currently facing challenges that parts of the US will be facing shortly. The world can no longer live in silos. At each stop at BUET, we were offered pastries, fruit, and a small sandwich.
And then dinner out at a great restaurant. Glad to be an adventurous eater. I have learned to not ask too many questions once I clarify my food allergies. I’m not sure what I ate, but it was delicious.
International Perspectives on Water and the Environment Conference!