Supporting a Civil Engineering Marvel: World’s Highest Railway Bridge
A bridge was needed to connect a railway line across the deep gorge of the Chenab River in India. DYWIDAG supplied and installed products for what was considered the largest civil engineering challenge in recent Indian history.
Context
The rugged, mountainous terrain of northern India posed numerous geological challenges to engineers working on the mega-project to construct a new railway line across the region. Most difficult would be designing a bridge to cross the deep gorge of the Chenab River.
The Chenab Rail Bridge is an Indian railway steel and concrete arch bridge located between Bakkal and Kauri in the Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It spans the Chenab River at a height of 359 m (1,178 ft) above the river, making it the world's highest rail bridge.
DYWIDAG provided engineering support, fabricated, and supplied ground anchors as well as temporary stay cables for the erection of the bridge’s arch. In April 2021 the bridge's arch was completed. It is considered an engineering marvel, due to the treacherous nature of the deep gorge and the fast-flowing river below.
Solution
DYWIDAG supplied DCP bar ground anchors for this one-of-a-kind project, which were installed between May 2014 and June 2017. We then supplied and installed temporary stay cables for the erection of the Bridge’s arch from December 2017 to June 2021. The anchors were fabricated in India to ensure there was no damage to the final product during transport from Europe.
In December 2021, we completed the installation and stress-tested the 56 cables of this railway steel and concrete arch bridge. In March 2022, DYWIDAG completed the installation of horizontal ties in the deck structure, thus “closing” the bridge’s arch. The team will next dismantle the temporary stay cables in fall 2022.
Going Further
Deck height
Above riverbed: 359 m (1,178 ft);
Above river surface: 322 m (1,056 ft)
Bridge length: 1,315 m (4,314 ft), including the 650 m (2,130 ft) long viaduct on the northern side
Arch span: 467 m (1,532 ft)
Arch length: 480 m (1,570 ft)
The bridge was designed to last 120 years, to withstand windspeeds of up to 266kmph, and to bear earthquake forces of the highest intensity zone-V in India.
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