World's highest railway bridge over the Chenab River

[ozbob]

ABC News --> India on course to complete the world's highest railway bridge over the Chenab River in Jammu and Kashmir by 2016

The arch-shaped steel structure is being constructed over the Chenab River.

It will link sections of the spectacular mountainous region of India's northern Jammu and Kashmir state.

The bridge is expected to be 359 metres (1,177 feet) high when completed.

It will surpass 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 said.

"The design would ensure that it withstands seismic activities and high wind speeds."

Work on the bridge started in 2002 but safety and feasibility concerns, including the area's strong winds, caused the project to be stopped in 2008.

It was again given the green-light two years later.

The project is estimated to cost AU$97.8 million and is being handled by Konkan Railway Corporation, a subsidiary of state-owned Indian Railways.

The bridge will connect Baramulla to Jammu with a travel time of six-and-a-half hours, almost half the time it currently takes.

According to the project's engineers, the main arch is being built using two cable cranes attached on either side of the river which are secured on enormous steel pylons.

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.

"One of the biggest challenges involved was constructing the bridge without obstructing the flow of the river," the railways official said.

"Approach roads had to be constructed to reach the foundations of the bridge."

AFP

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[Stillwater]

It probably beats this: