KL Report
SRINAGAR
The authorities are busy constructing world’s highest railway bridge over Chenab River which is taller than Eiffel tower. According to the reports the height of the bridge is expected to be 359 meters and after completion, the bridge will be the highest bridge in the entire world. Reports informed that the bridge is expected to be completed by the end of year 2016.
The railway authorities stated that the bridge is designed in such a way that it could withstand seismic activities and high speed winds that are usual in the Chenab valley. A 5.8 earthquake hit the Chenab Valley on May 1, 2013, killing two and injuring 69.Seismic activity continued in the valley throughout 2013, prompting teams of seismologists to study the area. A local belief states that the earthquakes were being caused by hydroelectric construction projects in the area however the same was denied by the experts later.
Reports informed that the work on the bridge started in 2002 but safety and feasibility concerns, including the area’s strong winds, saw the project halted in 2008 before being green-lighted again two years later. The estimated cost of the project, which is being handled by Konkan Railway Corporation, a subsidiary of state-owned Indian Railway, is more than 553 crore rupees, reports an American based news network.
The bridge will connect Baramulla to Jammu in the state and the distance is expected to be covered within six hours. The main arch is being erected using two cable cranes attached on either side of the river which are secured on enormous steel pylons, according to engineers of the project.
The 1, 31 5-metre long bridge will use up to 25,000 tons of steel with some material being transported by helicopters due to the tough terrain, they said. “One of the biggest challenges involved was constructing the bridge without obstructing the flow of the river,” the railway s official quoted by the news network said.
