KAURI, India - Indian engineers are toiling in the Himalayas to
build the world’s highest railway bridge which is expected to be 35 metres
taller than the Eiffel Tower when completed by 2016.
The arch-shaped steel structure is being constructed over
the Chenab River to link sections of the spectacular mountainous region of
India’s northern Jammu and Kashmir state.
The bridge is expected to be 359 metres high when completed
— surpassing the world’s current tallest railway bridge over the Beipanjiang
River in China’s Guizhou province, which stands at 275 metres high.
“It is an engineering marvel. We hope to get this bridge
ready by December 2016,” a senior Indian Railways official told AFP.
“The design would ensure that it withstands seismic
activities and high wind speeds,” he said on Wednesday.
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 Railways, is $92
million.
The bridge will connect Baramulla to Jammu in the Himalayan
state with a travel time of six-and-a-half hours, almost half the time it
currently takes.
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 1,315-metre long bridge will use up to 25,000 tonnes of
steel with some material being transported by helicopters due to the tough
terrain, they said.
Source: Agencies
Post a Comment