Assembling steel elements complete; launching of Indrali bow-string bridge may take month

Udupi Deputy Commissioner K. Vidyakumari visits the project site of the 58mt long 12mt wide bow string bridge to be placed over Mangaluru-Mumbai Railway line on Malpe-Tirthahalli NH 169A being built by the National Highways Division of Karnataka Public Works Department on January 15, 2025 at Indrali in Udupi.
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

With the assembling of elements — long and arch beams and cross girders — getting completed for the 58 mt long and 12 mt wide bow string bridge to be placed over Mangaluru-Mumbai Railway line on Malpe-Tirthahalli NH 169A at Indrali, welding of the parts may take a month following which the bridge will be launched.

This was revealed to Udupi Deputy Commissioner (DC) K. Vidyakumari and Superintendent of Police K. Arun who visited the Road Overbridge (RoB) project site at Indrali between Udupi and Manipal on January 15, by the engineers of the National Highways Division of Karnataka Public Works Department. After the NH-PWD failed to adhere to several deadlines to complete the seven year-old project, the district administration had fixed January 15, 2025 as the fresh deadline.

Ms. Vidyakumari told reporters that though the work was fast progressing, lack of space for machinery movement and closely located hi-tension power lines require cautious execution. Notwithstanding the limitations, the administration has asked NH-PWD to complete the work within a month. The DC said the assembled steel girders need to be fabricated and the process could take about a fortnight. Thereafter, the entire structure has to be pulled over the Railway line for its launching, which might take another 10 days. The Railways would have to take required traffic and power blocks to facilitate the bridge launching, the DC added.

RDSO specifications

Fabrication of steel elements for the 58mt long 12 mt wide bow string bridge to be placed over Mangaluru-Mumbai Railway line on Malpe-Tirthahalli NH 169A has to be done as per the specifications of the Research Design and Standards Organisation of the Indian Railways on Wednesday, January 15, 2025 at Indrali in Udupi.
| Photo Credit:
The Hindu

A senior NH-PWD engineer told The Hindu that fabrication of steel girders has to be done as per the specifications of the Research, Design and Standards Organisation (RDSO) of the Indian Railways. Thus, one could not rush through the fabrication process as done in normal fabrication works. Thereafter the structure has to be pulled meters by meters atop the Railway line and final launching has to be done.

The Department has already completed concrete footing to support the bow string bridge on both embankments of the Railway Corridor using only manpower as the Railways did not allow use of machinery, the engineer said. Estimated to cost ₹9 crore, the bowstring bridge would cover the entire 48 mt right of way of Konkan Railway Corporation’s line. While the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways had earlier approved a 33 mt long bridge, KRCL later wanted the RoB to cover its entire right of way to accommodate further expansion of the line.