Jamuna Bridge

The Bangabandhu Bridge stretches 4.8 kilometres across the Jamuna, one of the most powerful rivers in the Ganges-Brahmaputra delta system, and has physically linked eastern and western Bangladesh since it opened in 1998. Its name honours the title 'Bangabandhu' — Friend of Bengal — bestowed on Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding father of independent Bangladesh. Before its construction, crossing the Jamuna relied on ferries that could take several hours, effectively splitting the country's road and rail network in two. The dual-purpose road and rail structure is considered a landmark of Bangladeshi civil engineering and has significantly accelerated economic integration of the country's northern regions. From the bridge deck, visitors look out over the Jamuna's wide braided channel, a shifting mosaic of sandbars and river islands.