About 15,000 vehicles crossed the Padma Bridge on the second day, a steep drop from the first, largely due to a ban on motorcycles.
“Seventy-five per cent of the vehicles that crossed on the first day were motorcycles. As motorcycles were barred yesterday, the number fell,” said Tofazzal Hossain, an engineer at the Bangladesh Bridge Authority.
The government raked in about Tk 27.5 million in tolls from 61,000 vehicles in the first 24 hours after the bridge opened, reports bdnews24.com.
“About 15,000 vehicles crossed the Padma Bridge on the second day, between 6 am on Monday and 6 am on Tuesday,” said Tofazzal. “We took in nearly Tk 20 million in tolls during that time.”
“In the second 24-hour period, 15,400 vehicles crossed the bridge,” said another bridge authority official. “A little over Tk 19.8 million was collected.”
The Padma Bridge opened to traffic on Sunday after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated it on Sunday.
Thousands flocked to the megastructure on the first day to catch a glimpse. Most of the traffic was on motorcycles, but there were cars, buses and trucks too.
Two men died in a motorcycle accident on the bridge on Sunday night. In order to avoid congestion and reduce risk, the bridge authority closed it to motorcycles until further notice.