The Keane Bridge is a notable landmark of

Sylhet Sylhet (; ) is a Metropolis, metropolitan city in the north eastern region of Bangladesh. It serves as the administrative center for both the Sylhet District and the Sylhet Division. The city is situated on the banks of the Surma River and, as o ...

city, Bangladesh. This bridge is called ''the gateway to Sylhet city''. After Earl Robert Miller, the ambassador of USA to Bangladesh visited the bridge and recommended its sole use as a pedestrian bridge, no vehicles are allowed to drive through the bridge. It is therefore the longest footover bridge in Bangladesh.

Location and description

This bridge is located over the

Surma River The Surma () is a major river in Bangladesh, part of the Surma-Meghna River System. It starts when the Barak River from northeast India divides at the Bangladesh border into the Surma and the Kushiyara rivers. It ends in Kishoreganj District, ...

at the middle of Sylhet city which is northeast of

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; , ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the capital city, capital and list of cities and towns in Bangladesh, largest city of Bangladesh. It is one of the list of largest cities, largest and list o ...

, the capital of Bangladesh.

History

This bridge was built in 1936 and is named after Sir Michael Keane who was the Irish Governor of

Assam Assam (, , ) is a state in Northeast India, northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra Valley, Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . It is the second largest state in Northeast India, nor ...

from 1932 to 1937.

Structure

It is made of iron and steel and looks like a bow. The bridge is 1150 feet long and 18 feet breadth. About

Taka The taka (, , sign: , code: BDT, short form: Tk) is the currency of Bangladesh. In Unicode, it is encoded at . Issuance of banknotes 10 and larger is controlled by Bangladesh Bank, while the 2 and 5 govt. notes are the responsibility of the ...

5.6 million was spent to build the bridge.

Damage and repair

During the

Bangladesh Liberation War The Bangladesh Liberation War (, ), also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence, was an War, armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Bengali nationalism, Bengali nationalist and self-determination movement in East Pakistan, which res ...

the bridge was blown off with

dynamite Dynamite is an explosive made of nitroglycerin, sorbents (such as powdered shells or clay), and Stabilizer (chemistry), stabilizers. It was invented by the Swedish people, Swedish chemist and engineer Alfred Nobel in Geesthacht, Northern German ...

by the

Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army (, ), commonly known as the Pak Army (), is the Land warfare, land service branch and the largest component of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The president of Pakistan is the Commander-in-chief, supreme commander of the army. The ...

and damaged. It was repaired in 1977.

Gallery

File:Keane Bridge (18608712123).jpg, North entrance File:Keane bridge 1.JPG File:Kinn Bridge.jpg, From south File:Keane bridge at Night.jpg, Keane Bridge views at night File:Kin Bridge.jpg File:Keane bridge at Night.jpg, Night View Of Keane Bridge

References

External links

Bridges in Bangladesh Buildings and structures in Sylhet Transport in Sylhet 1936 establishments in India {{Bangladesh-bridge-struct-stub