On Monday, India finally created milestone by building the arch of the world’s highest railway bridge that covers nearly 359 metres above the bed of Chenab river in Jammu and Kashmir.
Bridge, which is 35-metre higher than the Eiffel Tower in Paris, is expected to be completed within a year.
Chenab Bridge, the world’s highest railway bridge, part of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla rail link project (USBRL), set an important construction milestone today with completion of the steel arch of the iconic Chenab Bridge. This was one of the most difficult part of the bridge over Chenab. This achievement is a major leap towards the completion of the 111 K.M long stretchs from Katra to Banihal. It is arguably the biggest civil-engineering challenge faced by any railway project in India in recent history.
The 5.6-metre last piece of metal was fitted at the highest point and joined the two arms of the arch that currently stretch towards each other from both the banks of the river. This completed the shape of the arch that will then loom over the treacherous Chenab, flowing some 359 metres below. After completion of the arch work, removal of the stay cables, filling of the concrete in the arch rib, erection of the steel trestle, launching of the viaduct and track laying work will be taken up.
The completion of the historic Arch work was also seen by Shri Piyush Goyal Minister for Railways, Commerce & Industry and Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, Shri Suneet Sharma, Chairman & CEO, Railway Board, Shri Ashutosh Gangal, General Manager Northern Railway through video conferencing.
#IndianRailways completes the arch closure of the iconic #ChenabBridge
The arch looms over the river Chenab, flowing some 359 metres below, making it the world's highest railway bridge
Read more: https://t.co/9D5c7WHFoe pic.twitter.com/UcUeYGv4Mr
— PIB India (@PIB_India) April 5, 2021
Construction of Bridge involved fabrication of 28,660 MT steel, 10 Lakh Cum Earthwork, 66,000 Cum Concrete and 26 Km motorable roads. Arch consists of steel boxes. Overall weight of Arch is 10,619 Metric tons. Software used for structural detailing is ‘Tekla’ which is most sophisticated software.
