SRINAGAR, Aug 31: The construction of what will be the world’s tallest bridge is due to be completed by 2015 in mountainous Jammu and Kashmir state.
The state-of-the-art facility, 1.3 kilometres-long bridge will be located at the height of 359 meters above the bed of the Chenab River, authorities say.
At present, the world’s tallest rail bridge lies over France’s Tarn river and its tallest pillar rises 340 metres. However, the actual height at which trains run on the bridge is 300 metres.
When completed, the Chenab river bridge will be five times the height of Qutub Minar and 35 metres taller than Eiffel Tower, “the highest in the world”.
A part of the ambitious Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link Project, the bridge will be constructed on the 73km Katra-Dharam section.
The railway bridge is expected to connect Anantnag, Pulwama, Shopian, Budgam, Srinagar and Baramulla districts of the state to the railway network.
The Konkan Railway Corporation, which has built 179 bridges in the Konkan region, is executing this section of the project.
“The bridge will be a scenic beauty as the train will come out of a 5.9 km long tunnel from the Katra-end and pass through other bridges before it crosses the Chenab,” Rajesh Agarwal, executive director of Konkan Railway, said.
“Special painting scheme is being used for arch portion which is designed considering a number of additional parameters such as fatigue, seismic effect, blast load, global stability and composite action,” a government spokesperson said.
The 1,315-metre bridge will use 25,000 million tonnes of steel and is likely to be completed by the end of 2015, he said. It is likely to cost around Rs 650 crore.
The Jammu-Udhampur-Katra-Quazigund-Baramulla Railway line is the biggest mountain railway construction since the country’s Independence in 1947.
Wind speed, which may go up to 266 kmph at the height of 359 metres, can, however, be an irritant to the construction of the bridge. It has been decided not to allow trains to cross the Chenab if the wind velocity is more than 90 kmph.
However, authorities say they are working on various latest safety measures like measuring wind velocity, ground acceleration in case of earthquake and temperature monitor.
