The Indian Railways is set to build the first vertical-lift bridge connecting Rameswaram to the mainland, reports Live Mint. The new bridge will replace the 104-year-old Pamban bridge and will reportedly allow ships and steamers to pass through without any hindrance.

“The Pamban Sea-Bridge that connects Rameswaram with mainland India will soon have vertical lift span technology to allow the cross-navigation of vessels,” tweeted Union Minister for Railways Piyush Goyal.

The 2-km-long bridge would cost Rs 250 crore and is expected to be ready in the next four years. The existing bridge is 2,058 metres-long and has been used for more than a hundred years and has been non-operational for the past few years.

Also, the new bridge will have a 63-metre stretch which will lift, while remaining parallel to the deck allowing access to the ships. It will have 100 spans of 18.3 metres and one navigational span of 63 metres.

The vertical-lift bridge will be three metres higher than the existing bridge with a navigational air clearance of 22 metres above sea level. It will be operated using an electro-mechanical control system which will be interlocked with train control systems, according to the Mint report.

Pamban bridge is manually operated, in which ‘Scherzer’ rolling lift technology opens the bridge up horizontally.