The world’s highest railway bridge to be constructed in the Himalayas by Indian Railway over the Chenab River, under the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla rail link project (USBRL)

The bridge design is a type of Deck arch bridge. The construction of the arch bridge of the world’s highest railway bridge that soars 359 meters above the bed of the Chenab river in Jammu and Kashmir, with the Northern Railways zone of Indian Railways terming the achievement a milestone.

The erection scheme for the bridge is a project in itself. Two pylons (about 130 m and 100 m high) were erected on either side of the river, and two auxiliary self-propelled cable cranes (capacity of 20t each) were used to tow temporary auxiliary ropes across these pylons. 

The ropes were used to support the partly finished arch parts. After arch completion, the trusses will be added, and finally, the girder will be constructed as a horizontal sliding type platform.

Arch sections traveled to their final positions along four cables strung between all steelwork towers about 130 m tall.

With the arch in place, its chords are now due to be filled with concrete to increase wind stability

The iconic bridge will soar 359 m above the bed of the river and will be 30 m higher than the iconic Eiffel Tower in Paris.

Also read: What are SCMs in concrete, what are the importance of SCMs?

The bridge’s location in an area of strong winds and in one of India’s most critical seismic zones required intensive modeling by designers. Structural engineering design plays an important role to become successful in any project.

The Chenab Bridge

• Length of the bridge = 1,315 m long
• Hight = 359 m (35 m higher than the Eiffel Tower)
• The material used =  28,660 MT steel, 10 lacks Cum earthwork, 66,000 Cum concrete, and 26 km motorable road
• Length of main arch span: 467 m (linear); 550 m (curvilinear)
• The arch consists of steel boxes
• Structural steel is suitable for temperatures from minus 10 degrees Celsius to 40 degrees Celsius
• The height of the cable crane’s pylon at the Srinagar end is 127 m (Qutub Minar, by comparison, is 72 m high)
• Extensive health monitoring and warning systems planned through state-of-art instrumentation

The Chenab Bridge design

• Wind will pose a significant threat to the stability of the bridge to tackle this issue, modern wind tunnel tests were performed in Denmark to finalize the design and make sure that the is able to withstand wind velocities up to 266 kmph.
• The Chenab bridge is made up of steel arches, whereas the mountain slopes supporting the foundations of the main arch have been stabilized.
• It has also been designed to be ‘blast-proof’ in consultation with the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
• Bridge designed to bear earthquake forces of highest intensity Zone 5

The Companies who work on this project

• Mainly handle all the work by Government-owned Konkan Railway Corporation Ltd. (KRC) 
• The design and construction were awarded to Afcons Infrastructure, and IISC Bangalore helped to design the structure.
• DRDO helped in designing it as a blast-proof by using special steel

The bridge is constructed on the Chenab River in the Himalayas it’s a type of Arch bridge.

Watch the complete video by Afcons infrastructure

Arch bridge

Arch bridges are very economical and advantageous if the horizontal reaction force caused by the loading of vertical loads is effectively applied and if they are properly designed to reduce the sectional forces of members.

Deck Arch bridge

The deck arch bridge (Fig A) represents an arch bridge in which the deck is completely above the arch. The components between the arch and the deck are named the spandrel. If the spandrel is made of a number of vertical columns, then it is called an open-spandrel deck arch bridge. In the case that an arch only supports the deck at the crown (peak of the arch), it is named a cathedral arch bridge.

Types of Arch Bridge

The arch bridges can also be classified according to the position of the arch relative to the deck, including deck arch, through-an arch, and half-through arch bridges.

Conclusion

There are many diff types of arch bridges that are constructed around the world. It’s more famous because of its design, high load-carrying capacity, and longer span. The Chenab Bridge is a big achievement for Indian infrastructural projects and railway connectivity in the Jammu-Kashmir region. PIGSO Learning always wrote of India’s biggest infrastructural projects who help to understand the growth and achievement in the construction industry and provide knowledge to civil engineering learners.

Mayank Panchal

Mayank Panchal is the founder of PIGSO Learning. He has many years of experience in teaching, curriculum development, and instructional designer in civil engineering, Mathematics, and digital marketing space. His passion for conceptual and deep research-based learning helps to understand the subject in depth.