Amid loud cheers of ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ and ‘Vande Mataram’, the construction team put in place the final section to close an arch that will support the world’s highest railway bridge.
The 5.6-metre last piece of metal was fitted at the highest point of 359 metres over the river today. This piece connected the two arms of the arch that currently stretch towards each other from both the banks of the river. 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 complex bridge has taken well over a decade to reach this important milestone amid delays and modifications after safety concerns were flagged in the 2000s. A tender for the project was first floated in 2003, with the bridge planned for completion by 2006.
The Chenab Railway Bridge Arch Closure Process
- Before closure and during launching, the arch is being supported by stay cables.
- The closure includes the erection of the last 8 segments (4 no. upstream and 4 no. downstream) of Arch.
- The process of arch closure started on 20 February 2021. Before the ceremony for the closure of the arch, 07 segments were erected in advance.
- At the time of closure of arch, segment no. WT28 was erected. This segment is at kauri end (west end) of the crown.
- Name: WT28 (upstream side top chord segment)
- Size: 5.6 m x 4.0 m x 0.98 m ( L x B x H ); Weight =18.95 MT
After the closure of the Arch, other activities such as removal of stay cables, filling of the concrete arch with self-compacting concrete, erection of trestles, launching of the deck over the main arch by incremental launching will be undertaken.
Chenab River Bridge: Unique Features
- Designed for blast load in consultation with DRDO. This is for the first time in India.
- Will remain operational at a restricted speed of 30 Km/Hour despite the removal of one pier/trestle.
- Designed for Zone V earthquake forces
- Phased Array Ultrasonic Testing machine in use for testing welds. Another first on IR.
- NABL accredited lab established at the site for weld testing.
- Approx. 584Km welding done, roughly equal to the distance between Jammu Tawi and New Delhi.
- The height of the cable crane’s pylon at Srinagar End is 127m, taller than Qutub Minar of 72m.
- The curved portion of the viaduct was launched done for the first time using the End Launching Method.
- Extensive health monitoring and warning systems planned through state of art instrumentation.
Chenab Bridge Facts
- The bridge will be 35 meters higher than the iconic Eiffel Tower in Paris, France.
- The Chenab bridge is part of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla project to connect Kashmir to the rest of the country by rail.
- This bridge is 1,315m long.
- The structure is the highest railway bridge in the world at 359m above the river bed level.
- Construction of Bridge involved fabrication of 28,660 MT steel, 10 Lakh Cum Earthwork, 66,000 Cum Concrete and 26 Km motorable roads.
- The arch consists of steel boxes. Concrete will be filled in boxes of the arch to improve stability.
- The overall weight of the arch is 10,619 metric tons.
- For the first time, members of the arch were erected by overhead cable cranes.
- Structural detailing was completed with Tekla, a BIM software solution.
- The structural steel used is suitable for -10°C to 40°C temperature.
Technical Specifications
- Design Life: 120 years
- Design speed: 100 kmph
- Total length: 1.315km
- Cost of Bridge: 1486 Cr.
- Spans: 17
- Length of Main arch span: 467m (linear); 550m (curvilinear)
- Design wind speed: 266 kmph
- Total Steel Fabrication: 28660 MT (approx)
- Executing Agency: M/s Konkan Railway Corporation Ltd.
- M/s Chenab Bridge Project Undertaking [Ultra-AFCONS-VSL(JV)]
- Designers
a. Viaduct & Foundations: M/s WSP (Finland)
b. Arch: M/s Leonhart, Andra and Partners (Germany)
c. Foundation Protection: Indian Institute of Science Bangalore - Proof Consultant:
a. Foundation & Foundation Protection: M/s URS, UK
b. Superstructure of Viaduct & Arch: M/s COWI, UK - Slope Stability Analysis: (Independent Consultant) M/s ITASCA, USA
- Slope Stability Analysis: Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi
- Seismic Analysis: Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi & Roorkee
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.
Progress of work on the Chenab River Bridge
| S.No. | Activities | Scope | Completed |
| 1. | Fabrication | 28,660 MT | 28,595 MT |
| 2. | Overall Erection | 28,660 MT | 16,902 MT |
| 3. | Erection of Arch | 10,619 MT | 10,236 MT |
| 4. | Rock Bolts | 69,343 Rmt | 66,683 Rmt |
| 5. | Shotcrete | 75,061 Sqm | 73,761 sqm |