The world’s tallest railway bridge being built above the Chenab river on the Udhampur Srinagar -Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) will be ready only by 2019.
The bridge, which will rise 359 metres over the Chenab and is being built in hostile and isolated terrain, will be 35 metres taller than the Eiffel Tower.
Currently , the tallest bridge is above the Tam River in France, with its tallest pillar rising 340m from the riverbed. The Chenab Bridge, which has an arch de sign, will connect the steep banks on the Bakkal (Katra) and Kauri (Srinagar) ends.It will have a central span of 457 metres and is designed to withstand wind speeds of 266kmph.
Construction of the Jammu to Katra section of the bridge was completed and opened in 2014 and work is in progress on the Katra-Banihal section.
The Konkan Railway has taken up the construction of part of the USBRL project from Katra to Dharam in December 2002. The bridge was expected to be ready by 2016 but the new deadline is 2019.
Konkan Railway Corporation Limited (KRCL) managing director Sanjay Gupta said, “The construction of the bridge is the most challenging part. It will be an engineering marvel and will emerge as a tourist attraction. Many people have bought land adjoining the bridge site in anticipation of this.”
KRCL’s chief engineer Gopal Raju said, “We had to construct 5km of road to approach the foundation of the bridge as the site was inaccessible. The civil work will be completed by January 2017 as we have already achieved 75% progress.”
Konkan Railway will install sensors on the bridge to check the wind velocity . As soon as the wind velocity exceeds 90kmph, the signal on the track will turn red, preventing train movement.Gupta added, “We have completed work on 60% of the stretch that is being constructed by KRCL.”
KRCL has spent around Rs 2,900 crore for the project, which is estimated to cost Rs 6,100 crore. “Funds are not a constraint and KR will earn Rs 400-500 crore from it this year,” said Gupta. Work on the project was suspended in 2008 for review of alignment. The Railway Board ordered resumption of work after 14 months on the same alignment, but actual work on the ground began in 2012.
