The Chenab Bridge in Jammu and Kashmir is the world's highest railway bridge. It was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday.
The project is part of the 272-km Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Railway Link (USBRL) and was approved in 2003.
One of the major contributors to the successful construction of the bridge is Professor G Madhavi Latha. A professor at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bengaluru, she was involved for 17 years in the Chenab Bridge project as a geotechnical consultant.
G Madhavi Latha worked closely with Afcons, the contractor of the bridge, in the planning, design and construction of the structure, focusing on the obstacles posed by the terrain.
Who Is G Madhavi Latha?
She is presently a HAG professor at IISc. Dr Latha completed her B.Tech in Civil Engineering in 1992 from the Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, where she achieved first class with distinction.
She bagged a gold medal as an M.Tech student at the National Institute of Technology, Warangal. Her specialisation was in Geotechnical Engineering.
Dr Latha completed her doctorate from IIT-Madras in 2000 in Geotechnical Engineering.
Over the years, she received several awards. In 2021, she was given the Best Woman Geotechnical Researcher award by the Indian Geotechnical Society. She was also named in the Top 75 Women in STEAM of India in 2022.
Role In Chenab Bridge Project
The challenging topography, weather conditions and remote location of the Chenab Bridge meant that construction was a difficult endeavour in the region.
Dr Latha's team adopted a “design-as-you-go approach” to overcome all obstacles. This meant innovating in real-time based on geological conditions such as fractured rocks, hidden cavities, and varying rock properties, which were not apparent in early surveys.
The team performed complex calculations and design modifications to work around the actual rock mass conditions they found during the construction. Dr Latha's contributions included advice on the design and placement of rock anchors to improve stability.
She recently published a paper in the Indian Geotechnical Journal's women's special issue titled “Design as You Go: The Case Study of Chenab Railway Bridge.” The paper describes how the design of the bridge has evolved continuously, with the overall structure, location and type being the only constants to suit the geological conditions of the site.
About Chenab Bridge
Built at a cost of Rs 1,486 crore, the Chenab Bridge has been described as the "biggest civil-engineering challenge faced by any railway project in India in recent history” by the government. The 359-metre bridge is taller than the Eiffel Tower by 35 metres. The project will improve connectivity in the Kashmir valley.
