WANA (May 07) – Houshang Bazvand, CEO of Iran’s Transport Infrastructure Construction and Development Company, announced the start of reconstruction work on the B1 Bridge, stating that the project is expected to be completed within less than a year.

 

Bazvand said debris removal operations began today as the first phase of the reconstruction process. According to initial estimates, the cleanup phase is expected to take about one week before the main rebuilding work starts.

 

He emphasized that efforts are underway to restore the bridge as quickly as possible and reopen it for public use in the shortest timeframe.

 

The estimated cost of reconstructing the bridge is around 3.7 trillion tomans, although officials describe this figure as a maximum estimate.

Bazvand also noted that all contractors involved in the reconstruction project are Iranian companies.

 

The B1 Bridge is considered one of Iran’s most significant engineering projects. Construction began in the late 2010s over the Beliqan River to connect Tehran’s Shahid Hemmat Freeway with Karaj’s Shahid Soleimani Freeway.

 

Stretching 1,050 meters in length and standing 136 meters high, the bridge is recognized as the tallest bridge in the Middle East and has been described as a masterpiece of Iranian engineering due to its complex design and construction. The project had originally been scheduled to open this spring.

 

On April 2, during the Nowruz Nature Day holiday, the B1 Bridge was struck in three separate aerial attacks carried out by what Iranian officials described as a U.S.-Israeli assault, causing significant damage to parts of the structure.

 

According to reports, around 15 tourists and holiday travelers were killed in the attack, while more than 150 others were injured.