10 Engineering Marvels of Indian Transport Infrastructure
“Art without engineering is dreaming. Engineering without art is calculating.”
Steven Roberts
India is home to some of the best engineering marvels around the world. It is usually the effort taken to solve a complex problem that leads to creative solutions. India, being peninsular, has to get creative with their transport plans and this muddle has led to the making of the best of the engineering wonders.
What would be the first word or phrase that comes to your mind when you think of India’s engineering work? Complex? Intricate? Sophisticated?
Let’s have a look at some transport engineering marvels of India.
1. Pamban Bridge, Tamil Nadu
The Pamban Bridge, Tamil Nadu connects the mainland with the Rameshwaram island.
The efforts to construct the bridge are dated back to the 1870s by the British administration. The initiation was intended on the plans to expand trade connectivity to Sri Lanka.
The bridge has 144 spans, spread over 2 k.m. between the mainland and the island. Pamban bridge is the second-longest sea bridge preceded by the Bandra-Worli sea link.
The bridge was commissioned back in February 1914
German engineer Scherzer designed the central part of the bridge that opens up to allow ferry movement. On average, 10 to 15 boats and small ships pass beneath the bridge every month.
In 1964, the bridge survived a major cyclone that flattened Dhanushkodi, a thriving port town. E Sreedharan, the man behind the construction of the Delhi Metro, played a major role in bolstering the bridge within 46 days.
DID YOU KNOW? The Pamban Bridge is over 100 years old.
Completed — February 1914 | Location — Tamil Nadu | Length — 2 km
2. Mahatma Gandhi Setu, Bihar
The Mahatma Gandhi Setu built over the Ganga River in Bihar connects Patna in the south to Hajipur in the north.
The bridge was approved in 1969 by the Central Government and the construction was assigned to Gammon India Limited and the pre-stressing contract was assigned to Freyssinet International. It took 10 years for the project to be completed.
The bridge has 45 spans of 121 meters each and 2 spans of 65.53 meters each on either side of the bridge. The bridge uses cantilever slabs with hinge bearings and box girders. This technology, being used in the 1970s is what makes this a marvel of Indian Engineering.
However, the existing structure is not strong enough to take the impending vehicular load. Therefore, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the repair work for the bridge in January 2017. The existing structure will be dismantled so two pontoon bridges running parallel to the setu have been constructed to facilitate the decongestion of overflowing traffic.
Completed — May 1982 | Location — Bihar| Length — 5.575 km
3. Panval Nadi Viaduct, Ratnagiri
The Panval Nadi Viaduct is a part of Konkan Railway Corporation and is built over the Panval River Valley in Ratnagiri.
The bridge is 424 m long and 64 m tall from its deepest point in the valley. The bridge has 9 spans of 40 meters each and 1 span on either side of 30 m each. The bridge was made using Slip Technology, which was used in India for the first time.
The project was designed by Shirish Patel & Associates Consultant Private Limited and constructed by Larsen & Toubro Ltd (L&T) ECC Division.
DID YOU KNOW? In 1995, Panval Nadi Viaduct was awarded the Most Outstanding Concrete structure by the American Concrete Institute (Maharashtra India Chapter) and Indian Institute of Bridge Engineers.
Completed — 1994 | Location — Ratnagiri | Length — 424 m
4. Bandra Worli Sea Link, Mumbai
The Bandra Worli Sea Link connects the Bandra, the Western Suburbs of Mumbai to Worli, South Mumbai.
The total length of the bridge is 5.6 km with a height of 126 m. The width of the bridge is 2 x 20 m.
The BWSL is a cable-stayed bridge with pre-stressed concrete-steel viaducts on either side. The cable-stayed bridge on the Bandra channel has a 50m-250m-250m-50m span arrangement, and on the Worli channel, it has a 50m-50m-150m-50m-50m span arrangement.
The bridge was built by the Hindustan Construction Company.
DID YOU KNOW? The Bandra–Worli Sea Link was the first infrastructure project in Mumbai to use seismic arresters. These will enable it to withstand earthquakes measuring up to 7.0 on the Richter scale.
Completed — March 2010 | Location — Mumbai| Length — 5.6 km
5. Pir Panjal Railway Tunnel, Jammu and Kashmir
The Pir Pranjal Railway Tunnel is 11.21 km long and is a part of the 202 km Udhampur — Srinagar — Baramulla rail link project undertaken by the Northern Railway. It is located 440 m below the Jawahar Tunnel, which is the only road link from the region to the rest of India.
The overall design and supervision consultation for the project was done by Geo-Consult RITES. Hindustan Construction Company was bestowed with the opportunity for construction. The main contractor for the project was IRCON International, a central government integrated company. While the waterproofing contract for waterproofing with PVC membrane done alongside the whole tunnel was awarded to Tristar Global Infrastructure.
DID YOU KNOW? The tunnel is almost straight, extending from north to south. It is 8.4m wide and 7.3m high.
Completed — June 2013 | Location — Jammu and Kashmir | Length — 11.21 km
6. Signature Bridge, New Delhi
The Signature Bridge connects Wazirabad to East Delhi. The bridge is a cantilever spare cable-stayed bridge which crosses the river Yamuna at Wazirabad section.
The cable-stayed bridge has been designed in a manner where the cables are in a combination of radial and semi-harp arrangement, in which cables are spaced apart on the pylon, like the harp design, but connect to one point or a number of closely spaced points on the deck.
The bridge’s architecture is done by Ratan J. Batliboi Consultants Private Limited, engineering designed by Schlaich Bergermann Partner, Tensa India, and Construma Consultancy. While the construction was taken over by Delhi Tourism and Transportation Development Corporation (DTTDC)
DID YOU KNOW? The pylon of the Signature bridge is the tallest structure in Delhi and is double the height of Qutub Minar.
Completed — November 2018 | Location — Jammu and Kashmir | Length — 11.21 km
7. Bogibeel Rail Cum Road Bridge, Assam
The Bogibeel Rail Cum Road Bridge is a road bridge and road that connects Dhemaji district and Dibrugrah district, built over the Brahmaputra river.
The truss bridge has 41 spans of 125 m and a superstructure of composite welded steel truss and reinforced concrete. Due to its proximity to the China border, the bridge has tremendous significance for India’s defense as it can accommodate fighter jet landings.
The structure has fully welded steel-concrete support beams that can withstand earthquakes of magnitudes up to 7 on the Richter Scale.
DID YOU KNOW? It is Asia’s 2nd longest rail-cum-road bridge and has a serviceable period of around 120 years.
Completed — December 2018 | Location — Assam | Length — 4.94 km
8. South Western Railway’s Lachyan-Hotgi Section
The Southern Western Railway started the Lachyan- Hotgi section, which is 33 km long. The track passes through the 670 m long bridge over River Bhima, the longest bridge in the zone.
The bridge has 14 spans of 45.7 m each. The bridge is a part of the route between Lachyan in Karnataka & Hotgi in Maharashtra via Bijapur and Sholapur district.
DID YOU KNOW? The Indian Railways completes 200 projects during the lockdown.
Completed — July 30, 2020 | Location — Karnataka and Maharashtra | Length — 670 m
9. Underwater Tunnel, Kolkata
The underwater twin tunnels are part of the East-West Metro Tunnel that connects Kolkata (Phoolbagan Metro Station) to Howrah (Howrah Maidan Metro Station).
The tunnel in total lengthens to 10.8 km while the underwater track is a 520m stretch. The width of these tunnels is 5.5 m. The twin tunnels are being constructed 30 meters below the ground level of Hoogly River.
The construction has been undertaken by Kolkata Metro Rail Construction.
DID YOU KNOW? This will be the underwater river tunnel in India.
Completed — 2021 | Location — Kolkata | Length — 10.8 km
10. Chenab Bridge, Jammu and Kashmir
The Chenab Bridge is a work in progress bridge. The bridge is a part of the Indian Railways. This is a steel and concrete arch bridge between Bakkal and Kauri.
The deck height of the bridge is 359 m and the length of the bridge is 1315 m. Whereas the arch span is designed at 467 m and arch length at 480 m.
On completion, the Chenab Bridge is expected to be the highest railway bridge in the world.
The construction of the bridge has been awarded to Afcon Infrastructure Limited, a part of the Shapoorji Pallonji Group.
DID YOU KNOW? A site-specific seismic spectrum has been developed by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee.
Completed — December 2021 | Location — Jammu and Kashmir | Length — 1.315 km
We have summed up all the amazing transport engineering marvels that you can actually enjoy without getting all technical.
We are grateful that we could be of assistance and if you are quite the curious being that we think you are, go on and explore more good stuff from Piblitz.
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