Padma Multipurpose Bridge Project

favorable. Then, the weighted scores are computed for each criterion by multiplying its weightagewith its respective score.6. Alternatives are then compared on weighted summation of scores and the alternative which hasthe highest total weighted score is selected as the preferred option. For example, Alternative 1 ispreferred over Alternative 2, if the total weighted score of the former is higher than the later.6.3 Without the Project Alternative7. The without project alternative is not acceptable since this will strongly reduce the potential forsocio-economic development in the entire Southwest region of the country, where about onequarter of the Bangladesh population lives. Relative isolation of this part of the country because ofthe absence of a good communication infrastructure, in the form of adequate road and railwayconnections with the rest of the country, will further deprive the region of the potential for increasedproduction, relocation or generation of new economic activities and employment. A stagnatingregional economy will affect incomes and increase the number of people living below the povertyline, especially in the major urban centers such as Khulna and Barisal. Opportunities for moreexport through Mongla seaport and Benapole land port will be reduced because of high transportcosts. Current risky and unreliable ferry services will remain in service, often resulting in longwaiting times for trucks (10 hours and more) and cars (2 hours). Noise, oil pollution and hindranceof commercial navigation caused by the fleet of ferries, launches and speedboats crossing the riveron daily basis will continue.6.4 Alternative Analysis during Feasibility Study6.4.1 Location/Alignment of Bridge8. FS has identified following four possible sites for the bridge construction. The location of thesesites is shown in Figure 6-2.Site 1: Paturia – Goalundo: Narrow River section located just downstream of theJamuna – Ganges junction at Paturia ferry port to connect National Highway 7 (leftbank) and National Highway 5 (right bank). Site 2: Dohar – Charbhadrasan: Narrow River section located at about 35 kmdownstream of Site 1. Presently, there is no ferry crossing available at this site.Site 3: Mawa – Janjira: Narrow River section at Mawa ferry ghat to connect NationalHighway 8 on both the banks. Ferry crossing is already operational.Site 4; Chandpur – Bhedarganj: Narrow River section located just downstream of theMeghna – Padma junction at Chandpur to connect regional road 140 (left bank) and180 (right bank).9. An analyses of alternatives was carried for these four alignments based on evaluation of factorssuch as river width, trip length, vehicle kilometer of normal traffic in 2025, travel time (vehicle hourof normal traffic), distance of route from Dhaka to Mongla sea port and Benapole land port, bridgelength, connecting road, guide bund works, additional RTW, flood plain works, natural environmentand social environment. A summary of comparison of these four sites is presented in Table 6-1.10. Based on such a comparison (as in Table 6-1), two sites (Paturia – Goalundo and Mawa-Janjira) were short listed for further evaluation and comparative analysis. Out of these two options,Mawa – Janjira site was finally selected based on overall considerations (see Table 6-2). From‘environmental considerations’, it may be noted that both these sites do not pose any advantage ordisadvantage over each other.6-3