Arch of world's highest railway bridge on Chenab river in J&K completed

The construction of the arch of the worlds highest railway bridge that soars 359 metres above the bed of the Chenab river in Jammu and Kashmir was completed on Monday with the Northern Railways terming the achievement a milestoneThe 13kilometrelong bridge aims to boost connectivity to the Kashmir Valley and it is being constructed at a cost of Rs 1486 crore as part of the UdhampurSrinagarBaramulla Railway Link USBRL projectThe bridge which is 35metre higher than the Eiffel Tower in Paris is expected to be completed within a year officials saidIt is a historic day for the Northern Railways and a milestone in the completion of the USBRL project connecting Kashmir with the rest of the country The project will be completed within two and a half years Northern Railway General Manager Ashutosh Gangal told reporters at the work site here in Reasi districtRailway Minister Piyush Goyal watched the lowering of the closure segment of the arch by cable crane through a video link from Delhi Senior officers including Gangal and Konkan Railway Chairman and Managing Director Sanjay Gupta attended the function hereThe selfsupporting arch is an engineering marvel and has brought us closer to our goal of the dream project After the completion of the arch we will move further and are hopeful of completing the bridge within a year Gangal saidThe Railway Ministry said that the 56metre last piece of metal closure segment was fitted at the highest point of the arch on Monday It joined the two arms of the arch that currently stretch towards each other from both banks of the Chenab it saidThis completed the shape of the arch 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 ministry saidGangal said that the construction of the bridge involves fabrication of 28660 metric tonnes of steel 10 lakh cubic metres earthwork and 66000 cubic metres of concreteThe arch consists of steel boxes in which concrete will be filled to improve stability The stay cables which are presently holding the arch will be removed as it has become selfsupporting after the installation of the last piece Gangal saidHe said the overall weight of the arch is 10619 metric tonnes and the erection of members of the arch by overhead cable cranes was done for the first time by the Indian RailwaysTalking about safety measures Gangal said the bridge was designed for blast load in consultation with the Defence Research and Development Organisation This is the first such design in the country and it can remain operational at a restricted speed of 30 kmph after removal of one pier or trestle he saidThe bridge is designed to withstand high wind speed of up to 266 kmph and earthquake forces of highest intensity Gangal saidFor the first time the Indian Railways used phased array ultrasonic machines and established a NABLaccredited lab at the site for weld testing he saidApproximately 584 kilometers of welding was done to join the different parts of structure which is to the tune of distance between Jammu Tawi to New Delhi the ministry saidThe chairman of the Konkan Railways Sanjay Gupta said that the real challenge was the construction of the arch which was completed todaySome people were apprehensive about its construction but this has finally happened with the installation of the last piece This is the heart of this project he saidOn the construction of the arch the ministry said that this was one of the most difficult part of the bridgeThis achievement is a major leap towards the completion of the 111kmlong winding stretch from Katra to Banihal It is arguably the biggest civilengineering challenge faced by any railway project in India in recent history it saidThis bridge is 1315metre long and is the highest railway bridge in the world being 359 metres above the river bed level It will be 35 meters higher than the iconic Eiffel Tower in Paris France the ministry saidThe sophisticated Tekla software has been used for structural detailing and the structural steel is suitable for 10 degrees Celsius to 40 degrees Celsius it saidThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever