The Gambhira Bridge was built in the year 1985 for a hundred years.
15 people have lost their lives due to falling Gambhra bridge on Mahisagar river in Vadodara district of Gujarat. Many people have been injured. It is said that the Gambhira bridge was built in the year 1985 to run for a hundred years. Despite this, it collapsed in 40 years. Many types of questions are also being raised on this.
Let us know what is the age of a bridge built on the river? How is the parameters of the bridge being completed, how is the parameters of it? What are the oldest bridges in the country that are still running? How is there a plan to prepare a bridge?
Rail bridges are built on the river for 100 years
There is a bridge built on any river, flyover, rail overbridge or any other kind of bridge, at the time of their planning, it is almost decided how much their age will be. Bridges on a river are usually built for up to 100 years of age. Many types of factors are responsible for this. The first factor is material. The age of the bridge depends on what it was made from. Concrete, steel and wood etc. have been used in bridge construction. By the way, wooden bridges have now become a matter of time and their age is also the lowest.
Concrete and steel bridge is older. It depends on how the quality of these goods is. For a long time, it is also very important to be correct for the bridge. Even though the age of the bridge is fixed at the time of construction, it also has to be kept in mind that its regular maintenance and repair should be done. Due to this, the age of the bridge can also be increased. What kind of bridge is, its age is also determined. For example, the structure of the Arch Bridge is such that they last longer. At the same time, the age of the beam bridge is less than this.
Manish Khiloria, who has been working in many countries of the world for the past 30 years after doing civil engineering from IIT Roorkee, MD of Protecan BTG Private Limited, says that it has a direct theory. If the bridge belongs to the railway, then a plan is made for at least a hundred years and the highway bridge is the general rules to plan for up to 50 years. While planning, we also assess the weather, flood etc. For example, how the weather showed the effect on the river on which the bridge is proposed to build. It is helpful in making DPR.
How does the age of the bridge be completed or not?
Whether a bridge has completed its age or not? There are many ways to detect this. First of all, there are regular inspections and testing to find out the age of bridges. Further bridges are fixed age based on the findings in these. Through them, repair of bridges etc. is also planned. Apart from this, structurally if the bridge is damaged, such as cracks in the bridge, bending of the bridge or collapse, pillars, decks, railings, joints and base, the age of a bridge is also declared completely in the event of damage to the base. Or it is advisable to repair. It depends on how much the damage has happened.
In the same way, if the concrete of the bridge starts eroding, steel is eroded by corrosion, wood is installed, and the bridge starts to bear the capacity of the bridge, even then it is decided not to use or repair it. Even after natural disasters, the damage to the bridge is assessed. If the strength of the bridge is suspected despite the repair, then it is assumed that the bridge has completed its age.
How is there a plan to prepare a bridge?
Many things are taken care of in planning to prepare any bridge. The important part of the planning is that it should be ascertained why it is being made. Currently, how much its capacity will be and how much will its capacity be left until it completed its age. How many will come out of this bridge there every day or throughout the year? Local geological conditions are also included in the bridge planning. Special care is taken of which level of earthquake etc. is warned in an area.
Local climate, environmental condition, temperature, moisture and pollution are also made part of planning, because all these can affect the age of the bridge. The ability to bear load is also part of planning. After this, planning, material and maintenance planning is made. Its detailed project report (DPR) is made. The expenses incurred on it are assessed.
These are some of the oldest bridges in the country
- The Naini Rail Bridge on the Yamuna River in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh is one of the oldest bridges in the country. This 1006 meter long bridge was constructed by the British in the year 1865 AD. When the train passes over this bridge, small vehicles run below. It took six years to build this bridge built on 14 pillars. Every pillar of this bridge built under the supervision of British engineer Shivle is 67 feet long and 17 feet wide. Its foundation is 42 feet deep. Its 13 pillars are shoes sized.
- The old Howrah Bridge (Rabindra Setu) connecting Calcutta (now Kolkata) and Howrah on the Hooghly River in West Bengal is also one of the oldest bridges in the country. The bridge was opened for the movement of people in the year 1874, which is one of the longest cantaliver bridges in the world.
- Ganga Rail Bridge or Kanpur Ganga Bridge, built at Shuklaganj end of Unnao on the Ganges river in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, is the only means of movement of trains between Kanpur-Lucknow. This bridge was built by the British in the year 1875. Like Naini Bridge, trains used to run above this bridge and vehicles on the road below. However, now the road has almost been closed.
- In Delhi, a bridge of Mughal era is still going on. This bridge in Nizamuddin area is known as Barapula Bridge, as it rests on 12 pillars. In the Mughal period, it was built by the Minar Banu Aga in the year 1628, when Jahangir was ruled in Delhi.
- Iron bridge bridge number 249: This bridge built on the Yamuna River in the year 1866 in Delhi is still operated. It is considered to be the first major iron railway bridge in India.
- Golden Bridge: The bridge over the Narmada River in the year 1881 in the district of Gujarat is still in use for road traffic.
- Kalka-Shimla Rail route: Many bridges of this railway route built between 1898-1903 in Himachal Pradesh are still in use for train traffic.
- Shahi Bridge: This bridge, built in the year 1564 in Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh, is still in use for light vehicles.
- Namdang Bridge: This bridge, built in Assam in the year 1703, is made of a single stone and is still in use for light vehicles.
- Indian Railways alone have more than 38 thousand such bridges, which are more than a hundred years old. They are inspected and repaired from time to time. They are still in use.