- India’s first cable-stayed bridge and the first-of-its-kind in the country, is currently under construction and will soon be completed.
- The Anji Khad bridge is being constructed in the Reasi district of the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
- This is a 80 km long bridge.
- The idea was first conceived in 2002 and was declared a “national project”.
- The Anji Khad bridge was initially proposed to be an arch bridge, a design similar to that of the Chenab Bridge.
- In 2016, Indian Railways decided to build a cable-stayed bridge taking the geographical concerns in mind.
- The bridge will connect the Katra and Reasi section of Jammu-Baramulla line.
Other features:
- The asymmetrical cable-stayed bridge is balanced on the axis of a central pylon — a large vertical tower-like structure.
- It can withstand 213 kmph of winds.
- The bridge is a part of the national project of the Udhampur-Srinagar- Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) Project.
- The Anji Khad bridge, once completed, will become taller than the Eiffel Tower.
- The project was commissioned by the Northern Railways and is being executed by Konkan Railway Corporation Ltd. (KRCL) and Hindustan Construction Company.
SOURCE: THE HINDU, THE ECONOMIC TIMES, PIB