The Anji Khad Bridge has been unveiled by the Indian Railways as a monumental marvel of engineering. This is India’s first cable-stayed rail bridge connecting Katra and Reasi along the Jammu-Baramulla line. It is a part of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) project.
The Anji Khad bridge spans 725.5 metres with a 331-meter-high pylon. Meant to withstands winds upto 213 kmph, it can support trains traveling at 100 kmph. Risen 331 metres above the riverbed, the single main pylon towers 193 metres from its foundation.
Complex Topography – A complex feat
Battling the challenging terrain of the region, PM Modi will flag off the much-awaited Delhi-Srinagar rail service. A milestone in the infrastructural feat for India, the Anji Khad Bridge lies above the Anji River itself. Becoming a key attraction alongside the Chenab Bridge, which is the world’s highest railway arch bridge to be made. Adapted for seismic activity and with immense structural stability, the bridge has a singular railway track.
Anji Khad – Engineering marvel
Supported by 96 cables with varying length of 82 to 295 metres, the Anji Khad Bridge has an asymmetrical design. According to Sandeep Gupta, Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) of the USBRL project, the bridge is divided into four sections, including a 473.25-meter cable-stayed span crossing a deep valley and a 120-meter ancillary viaduct on the Reasi side. The bridge also features a single railway line, a 3.75-meter-wide service road, and 1.5-meter-wide footpaths on both sides.
It uses the DOKA Jump Form Shuttering, Pump Concreting and a Tower Crane Technique which improves it efficiency which reduced its construction time by 30%.
Challenging weather – How it posed risks
Anji reports temperatures between 0 degrees to 10 degrees during winter months which has even dropped to -1 degrees. The construction teams and architects battled tough conditions to achieve this marvel. Build to sustain the bitter cold, the bridge is equipped to face gusty winds and occasional snowfall.
Not many know this, but the Anji Khad bridge was initially proposed to be an arch bridge, a design similar to that of the Chenab Bridge. However, later a committee recommended that the location was not suitable for an arch bridge due to the vulnerability of the complex structure.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the Chenab Rail Bridge and lay foundation stones for infrastructure projects worth over Rs 46,000 crore today, June 6.