WorldWide Drilling Resource

69 WorldWide Drilling Resource ® DECEMBER 2014 Chenab Bridge: The Next Man-Made Wonder Compiled by Amy White, Associate Editor WorldWide Drilling Resource ® The Indian Federal States of Jammu and Kashmir can only be reached by a narrow road. This road links the “sum- mer capital” Srinagar in the north with the “winter capital” Jammu at the foot of the Himalayas. Heavy snowfalls, tor- rential rains, and sudden avalanches regularly make the road impassable. However, this situation is about to change. In addition to improvements being made to the road, a rai l l ink is also being constructed. Currently, the road from Jammu to Srinagar is roughly 185 miles long and takes 10 hours to trav- el. The new railway link will shorten travel time between the two cities to 8 hours. The new route includes construc- tion of 8 to 10 bridges. The Chenab Bridge project between Bakkal and Kauri is one of these bridges. Work on the $92 mi l l ion bridge project began in 2005 and was fol- lowed by a 3-year rescheduling inter- ruption. Construction resumed in 2011, and the bridge has been declared a national project. The arch-shaped bridge of steel over the River Chenab can lay claim to a series of superlatives. It is one of the highest bridges of its kind in the world, and is being touted as the world’s next man-made wonder. One of the world’s largest cable cranes was developed and built to straddle the valley for the complex assembly of the prefabricated steel parts. The bridge is located in the tricki- est section of the Jammu-Udhampur- Srinagar-Baramulla rail route, where typical geology consists of young Himalayan rock. It is poor quality, broken rock with dolomitic limestone and fire- stone lentils with a silicate content. Safe excavation at both sides of the valley was prepared on a grand scale, involving wall supporting, rock anchor- ing, and drilling for foundations. Following vertical supporting oper- ations on the slope, the first layer of rock was removed by blasting and then carried away. Horizontal drill holes for securing the steep walls were under- taken using grouting mortar in a highly constricted area. Chenab Bridge is under construction. Photos courtesy of Sandvik Construction. Drilling, setting the rock bolts, and backfilling with grouting mortar is of utmost importance when it comes to stabilizing the slope in steep terrain. Avalanches caused by heavy monsoon rains must be avoided at all costs. The Chenab Bridge is scheduled for completion in 2016. Once complete, the bridge will be 4144 feet long, with a 1570-foot trussed arch span 1178 feet above the River Chenab. It will have a lifespan of 120 years and contribute to economic development by enabling bet- ter transportation access to the state and country. The new rail route is expected to open to the public in 2020. +3$ (1 -.2 )312 /0("$ !32 2'$ .4$0 ++ 1$04("$ -# $6/$0($-"$ .%%$0$# !7 '0../ ."* (2 .,/ -7 - $&(12$0$# 0& -(8 2(.- .6 9 .-* 5 6 , (+ 1 +$1 2'0../0."*!(2 "., 555 2'0../0."*!(2 ".,