14-05-2025
Pushing steel bridge over railway line for Indrali RoB in Udupi complete
The National Highways division of Karnataka Public Works Department achieved a major milestone, albeit with much delay, after it installed a bow string steel bridge atop the Mangaluru-Mumbai railway line at Indrali in Udupi for the additional Railway Over Bridge on Malpe-Tirthahalli National Highway 169A on May 13.
Pushing the structure atop the railway line using hydraulic jacks began on May 12 morning with the task getting completed in about 36 hours. The Konkan Railway Corporation Limited gave periodical line and power blocks to facilitate pushing of the structure on the girders placed over bridge cribs.
The NH-PWD has commenced lowering the steel bridge by removing bridge cribs gradually to bring the structure to the road level. Both the ends of the steel bridge would be placed on concrete embankments on the sides of the railway track, said a senior NH-PWD engineer. The process might take about 8-10 days, he added.
Once the bow string steel bridge is securely placed at its location, the department would put concrete on the bridge surface. The additional RoB between Udupi and Manipal should be ready to take vehicular traffic before the end of May, the engineer added.
The department used hydraulic jacks, girders and rails atop the cribs to push the 12 metre wide, 58 metre long and about 476-tonne pre-assembled bridge inch-by-inch.
SoS to Railway Minister
Sensing an abnormal delay from KRCL in permitting pushing of the structure despite the Research Design and Standards Organisation (RDSO) of the Indian Railways certifying the structure, Udupi-Chikkamagaluru MP Kota Srinivas Poojary had on May 10 petitioned Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw to intervene. Thereafter, KRCL permitted pushing of the structure on May 12.
As the additional RoB construction on the busy Udupi-Manipal four-lane road was being delayed since 2018, Mr. Poojary feared that the work might get further delayed if the rains start. He stayed at the location on May 12 night to oversee the work. The Indrali stretch of NH169A had become an accident-prone spot with the general public and organisations coming down heavily on the administration for the enormous delay in completion of the additional RoB.
