Salient features of the arch of the Chenab Bridge:
Indian Railways is constructing the iconic Arch Bridge on River Chenab as a part of the USBRL (Udhampur Srinagar Baramulla Railway Link) project to connect the Kashmir valley to the rest of the nation.
This bridge is 1315m long.
This is the highest Railway Bridge in the world being 359m above the river bed level.
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It will be 35 meters higher than the iconic Eiffel Tower in Paris (France).
Construction of Bridge involved fabrication of 28,660 MT steel, 10 Lakh Cum Earthwork, 66,000 Cum Concrete and 26 Km motorable roads.
Arch consists of steel boxes. Concrete will be filled in boxes of the Arch to improve stability.
Overall weight of Arch is 10,619 MT.
Erection of the members of arch by overhead cable cranes done for first time on Indian Railways.
The most sophisticated ‘Tekla’ software used for structural detailing.
Unique Features of the Bridge:
Bridge designed to withstand high wind speed up to 266 Km/Hour.
Bridge designed for blast load in consultation with DRDO for the first time in India.
Bridge will remain operational at restricted speed of 30 Km/Hour even after removal of one pier/trestle.
Bridge designed to bear earthquake forces of highest intensity zone-V in India.
First time on Indian Railways, Phased Array Ultrasonic Testing machine used for testing of welds.
First time on Indian Railways, NABL accredited lab established at site for weld testing.
Approx. 584Km welding done to join the different parts of structure, which is to the tune of distance between Jammu Tawi to New Delhi.
Height of cable crane’s pylon at Srinagar End is 127m, which is much taller than Qutub Minar of 72m.
Launching of curved viaduct portion done for first time on Indian Railways using End Launching Method.