Vinay Express News. New Delhi. Continuing the growth engine of a nation’s Vikas Yatra, Indian Railways is constructing the world’s tallest railway bridge pier in Manipur. The project is part of the 111 km long Jiribam-Imphal railway link, which will connect the capital of Manipur with the broad gauge network of the country. The ambitious project, which is being built at a pier height of 141 meters, will surpass the existing record of 139 meters of Mala – Rijeka viaduct, Montenegro in Europe.
Interacting with the media, Sandeep Sharma, Chief Engineer of the project said, “With the completion of the project, the 111 km of distance will be covered in 2-2.5 hours. Presently, the distance between Jiribam-Imphal (NH-37) is 220 km, which took about 10-12 hours of traveling. After the construction, the bridge crossing Noney valley will become the world’s highest pier bridge.”
The use of state-of-art technologies
As per the reports, the total length of the bridge will be 703 metres and the piers of the bridge are being built using hydraulic augers. To ensure efficient and continual construction, the mighty piers are specially designed with the ‘slip-form technique’. Further, the steel girders are pre-fabricated in a workshop, transported in segments, and erected at the site by the Cantilever launching scheme. To maintain safety and speedy conveyance of men and materials to the top, self-erecting electric lifts were used at each pier. There are a total of 45 tunnels in the project. The longest is Tunnel No. 12 with a length of 10.280 km. Notably, this will be the longest railway tunnel in the North East.
Bridge to be completed by December 2023
The first phase work, which extends for 12 km, has already been commissioned. Nearly 98 percent of the work is complete on the second phase and it will be fully completed by February 2022. Further, the third phase from Khongsang to Tupul will be done by November 2022 and the fourth (last) phase of the bridge, which extends from Tupul to Imphal valley, will be completed by December 2023. Speaking about the hurdles that are being faced in the construction of the bridge, Chief Engineer of the project, Sandeep Sharma said, “Landslides often occur on NH-37 during monsoon, which is the only route to this place. From April to October, there is immense rainfall here. During that time, it is difficult to work here. There are also some problems related to insurgency, which creates a problem sometimes.”
World’s highest railway bridge in Kashmir
Earlier this year, Indian Railways added one more feather to their cap, by completing the most challenging civil engineering project and has set an important construction landmark with the consummation of a half kilometer long arch of the iconic Chenab bridge. The arch connects Kashmir to Kanyakumari. This last metal piece fitted at the highest point has completed the arch to loom over the river Chenab, flowing some 359 metres below. The height of one of the steel piers provided on the main arch foundation at Katra end is 131 m, approximately 72 metres taller than Qutub Minar.
Higher than the Eiffel Tower
It is worth noting that Chenab bridge is the world’s highest railway bridge over river Chenab. Chenab bridge is 35 metres higher than the Eiffel Tower in Paris. This isn’t enough, this bridge has also recorded some breakthrough achievements in its name. Chenab bridge can withstand wind speeds of 266 km/hr. Around 3,200 people were engaged at the project site during the peak of construction activity. Moreover, this bridge has a design life of 120 years and a total of 17 spans. The length of the main linear arch span is 467 metres and the curvilinear arc is 550 metres. This bridge can bear earthquakes of the highest intensity.
Author: विनय थानवी
