DM Northern Railway, others inspect work
Nishikant Khajuria
JAMMU, July 6: World’s highest railway bridge on Chenab River between Bakkal and Kauri in Reasi district is one of the mega projects listed to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi before the announcement of 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Authoritative sources told the Excelsior that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would inaugurate the Chenab bridge, which is part of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Railway Link (USBRL) and nearing completion.
In the wake of purported development, General Manager Northern Railway Shobhan Choudhary along with top officers visited the bridge site yesterday and took stock of the finishing works being completed at war footing level, sources added.
Accompanied by CEO Construction; ADRM Jammu, Baldev Raj; Chief Engineer Sandeep Gupta and others, GM Shobhan Choudhary is learnt to have issued necessary instruction for early completion of the USBRL associated works, including the bridge.
The bridge has already completed all the mandatory tests, which were successfully conducted recently and followed by a spot visit by the Union Minister of Railway, Communications and Electronic and Information Technology, Ashwini Vaishnaw.
The tests that were conducted to check the stability and safety of the world’s highest bridge included high-velocity winds test, extreme temperatures test, earthquake-prone test and hydrological impacts due to water level increase. The bridge is able to withstand winds with speeds up to 260 kmph and will have a lifespan of 120 years.
This highest railway bridge in the world spans the Chenab River at a height of 359 m (1,178 ft) above the riverbed , which is 35 meters taller than Paris’ Eiffel Tower. The arch bridge forming a crucial link from Katra to Banihal, is part of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Railway Link (USBRL), a dream project worth Rs 35000 crore.
Even as the date of inauguration has not yet been finalized, sources said that PM Modi will dedicate this iconic bridge to people of Jammu and Kashmir as the second monumental project after Chenani-Nashri Tunnel during his tenure as Prime Minister of the country.
The people of J&K will get the bridge after two decades of waiting since the project was approved in 2003 but was delayed shortly due to fears of stability and safety. In the year 2008, the fresh contract for constructing this railway bridge was awarded.
When contacted, Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh, who represents Kathua-Udhampur-Doda Parliamentary constituency in Lok Sabha, said it was a matter of pride that after getting India’s longest road tunnel between Chenani and Nashri, his constituency is all set to get the world’s highest railway bridge. “Modi era is synonymous to development and my constituency is fortunate to get these monumental projects besides other developmental initiatives of the Government of India,” he added.
The construction of this highest railway bridge was also the biggest civil-engineering challenge faced by any railway project in India in recent history. Engineers built the arch with the help of two mammoth cable cranes installed on both banks of the Chenab — the Kauri end and the Bakkal end.
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