A Make In India Marvel: All To Know About India’s Four Lane Second Largest Rail-Road Bridge In Bengal’s Burdwan

India’s second largest rail road bridge which has been built adjoining the Burdwan railway station in West Bengal has been partially thrown open for the public after inauguration by the Minister of State for Railways Suresh Angadi on 27 September.

The four lane bridge with footpaths adjoining each side would help in phasing out an older two lane bridge which crosses right above the railway station.

Desperate Need For A New Bridge

The existing rail-road bridge predates Indian independence and restrictions were places on the movement of heavy vehicles like loaded trucks. The bridge which was also marred by accidents and traffic jams was declared a “dangerous structure” and the need was dire for a new structure.

Construction Marred By Disputes

The new rail-road over bridge was sanctioned all the way back in 2010 and Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL) was entrusted with the construction. Despite the sanction the project execution was slow.

While RVNL began constructing the mid-section above the railway tracks, the responsibility to construct the approach roads to the main bridge structure was entrusted to the state government. This is where the problem arose.

Following a purported dispute, this responsibility was also shifted to the railways. The bridge which was scheduled to be completed by 2014 was stuck in a limbo.

Bridge Construction And Specifications

The wheels began spinning in 2015 when a MoU was signed between Indian Railways and the state government for constructing the bridge and a 50:50 cost sharing was agreed.

The bridge has been built at an estimated cost of Rs 300 crore and connects the Grand Trunk road on one side and the Kalna road on the other. The main structure is 188.4 metre long and 27.7 metre wide with 3 metres reserved for footpaths.

The project implementation was tricky as RVNL had to deal with heavy rail and road traffic while keeping in mind the restrictions on maximum road surface clearance height.

RVNL erected the pylon segments in 197 days while not disrupting busy and running days. It also used a specially designed crane to place the girders over the bridge and used pre-cast slabs for deck concreting to avoid scaffolding.

The project also imbibed the Make in India philosophy and used cables manufactured by Usha Martin in Ranchi with the help of French technology.

Politics Over The Bridge

The bridge is a collaboration between Indian Railways and the West Bengal state government with both parties sharing 50 per cent of the costs.

With railways coming under the BJP led Central government and the state government being led by Trinamool supremo Mamata Banerjee - both bitter rivals, the bridge was recently a centre of a controversy.

The Railways Ministry had initially announced that Piyush Goyal will inaugurate the bridge on 30 November but just a day later state Panchayat Minister Subrata Mukherjee rushed to cut the ribbon.

This led to the railway ministry reviewing its plans and preponed the inauguration by 3 days. Piyush Goyal who was in the US at that time was present via video-conference.