For the development of another reliable means of transportation for Jammu & Kashmir, the government of India designed a Railway line of 272 Km between Udhampur and Baramulla, connecting the valley of Kashmir to Indian Railways known as the Udhampur - Srinagar - Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL). It is considered to be one of the toughest projects undertaken by Indian Railways after independence. Considering the significance of this project for seamless and smooth connectivity, the Project was announced to be a “National Project” in the year 2002.
The construction of a large number of Tunnels and Bridges in highly rugged and mountainous terrain with the most difficult and complex Himalayan geology, they include the famous Chenab Bridge Project, which is constructed in the Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir, which is a Union Territory. The bridge is approximately 111 km away by Road from Jammu in the Katra-Banihal stretch.
The Chenab Bridge will herald a new age in Jammu & Kashmir because of enhanced employment opportunities available to the youth, development of infrastructure due to the construction of road links, and provision of better means to reach out to other parts of the country for educational purposes. The tourists sector, connectivity of distant areas to the mainstream of the country, and overall economic growth of the region are bound to improve due to this development. The residents in villages located far off like Kauri and Bakkal that so far had no means of transport to move to the Reasi area and beyond have begun to avail themselves of the benefits of progress provided by the construction of paved roadways in the region. Actually, a gateway to the world has been opened to them.
Unique Features of This Bridge
- The bridge is designed to withstand maximum wind speeds of 266 km/h (74 m/s).
- The bridge is designed for blast load for the first time in India after consulting DRDO (Defence Research and Development Organisation).
- The bridge is designed to resist the forces due to earthquakes of the highest intensity zone-V of India.
- First time on Indian Railways, the use of Phased Array Ultrasonic Testing Machine was done to test welds.
- First time on Indian Railways, the laboratory accredited by the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL).
- Laboratory accredited by NABL set up at site to test welds.
- Provision of long welded rail (LWR) over the bridge and force calculations as per UIC - 774-3R guidelines (Code for Track Rail Interaction).
- Life of bridge 120 years.
- Launching of deck structure on combined circular and transition curves for the first time in Indian railway system.
- Temperature limits from – 100 to 40 degrees centigrade.
- The bridge would not fail due to its own weight even if one pier is stripped off.
- The bridge will still be able to handle traffic even when one important arch element is stripped off.
- The bridge will still be able to handle traffic even when one important arch element and pier is stripped off.
- Very Detailed Geotechnical and Geological Investigation.
Construction of the bridge
- Access Roads: Workers first cut over 5 kilometers of new roads to access the remote, mountainous terrain.
- Deep Excavation: Approximately eight million cubic meters of rock and earth were excavated.
- Stable Foundations: Engineers utilized large-scale, open-cast foundations built deep into the rock strata to support the immense weight of the steel arch and piers
- Construction of Pylons: Two huge pylons, made of concrete and steel, each measuring 127 meters tall, were constructed on either end of the canyon area.
- Cableway Construction: Engineers established the cable crane system, which is one of the biggest ever known, stretching between the two pylons. This enabled cranes to move loads, weighing as much as 40 tonnes, across the 467 meters of the gorge.
- Arch Construction: The construction of the 25,000-tonne steel arch was done through a cantilever method whereby arches were progressively added outwards from each end into the air.
- Stay Cables: In order to ensure that the unsupported sections of the new arch could not tip due to the forces of gravity or strong canyon winds, temporary cables were attached to the mountain slopes.
- Jointing Precision: The two ends of the arches were carefully joined together in mid-air using surveying tools.
- Rib Casting: Once the arch had been closed, concrete was poured into the hollow steel rib sections to increase rigidity and reduce vibrations due to winds.
- Deck Building: Tower cranes (derricks) erected above the deck erected the bridge approaches as well as the superstructure. The whole 17 span deck was constructed progressively along a gradually changing curved alignment—another first for an Indian railway bridge.
