New Delhi. The first steel bridge in Maharashtra has been constructed under the Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train Project. This bridge, 100 meters long and weighing 1,405 tonnes, has been built on the Nashik Highway (National Highway-3) near Dive-Anjur village in Bhiwandi in Thane district.
This bridge was built in Trichy, Tamil Nadu, about 1,300 kilometers away. After this, it was brought to Maharashtra in big trailers and assembled here and installed at the designated place. According to officials, the work shows the country’s growing capacity to fabricate large and complex steel structures.
During the construction of the bridge, steel cutting, drilling, welding and painting work was done as per the prescribed standards. Every batch of steel used was ultrasonically examined. The personnel engaged in welding and monitoring work were certified at international level.
At the construction site, the bridge was assembled on a temporary structure about 17.5 meters above the ground. For this, 22 skid arrangements and 54,076 special high capacity bolts were installed. Special paint and vibration reducing bearings have also been installed to ensure the safety and long-term strength of the bridge.
An automated system was used to guide the bridge to its final position. In this, two jacks with capacity of 150-150 tonnes and special strong rods were used. The bridge was installed by stopping traffic at night to minimize impact on traffic on the highway.
A total of 28 steel bridges are to be built in the Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train corridor. Of these, work on 16 bridges has been completed. These bridges are being built to cross highways, expressways, rivers and railway lines, where long stretches need to be covered by a single bridge.