Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday inaugurated the new Pamban Bridge in Tamil Nadu – the country’s first vertical -lift sea bridge – on the occasion of Ram Navami. PM Modi also flagged the Coast Guard ship – which passed under the bridge – and the new Rameswaram -Tambaram (Chennai) train also left. PM Modi, who reached Tamil Nadu after a three -day visit to Sri Lanka, also worshiped at the Ramanathswamy temple in Rameswaram and laid the foundation stone for various rail and road projects costing more than Rs 8,300 crore in the state.
New Pamban Bridge
Naya Pamban Bridge, will replace the original Cantillar Bridge built by the British in 1914. For more than 108 years, the old Pamban Bridge has been acting as a significant contact for pilgrims, tourists and goods transport, which was often in the area affected by cyclones and corrosive sea seasons. The original bridge, which was closed in December 2022, had a Sherger rolling lift span and it was becoming increasingly difficult to maintain it. Realizing the need for the infrastructure ready for the future, the Government of India approved the new vertical lift bridge in 2019.
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RVNL Director (Operations) MP Singh said, “Every aspect of this bridge was examined in detail. It has been declared structurally safe to run trains at a speed of 80 kmph for the next 100 years.”
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Bridge evidence of India’s engineering capacity and development of visionary infrastructure
According to the Ministry of Railways, this 2.07 km long bridge built on the Pakistani Strait in Tamil Nadu is a proof of India’s engineering capacity and development of visionary infrastructure. Located in Ramanathapuram district, this bridge connects the island of Rameswaram to the mainland with Mandapam. A Navratna Public Undertaking under the Ministry of Railways – Rail Development Corporation Limited (RVNL), built at a cost of more than Rs 700 crore, has a 72.5 meter shipping expansion that can be raised vertically 17 meters, allowing the ship to pass the bottom safely.
Can Pamban Bridge face powerful cyclones?
A senior official said the new Pamban Bridge could face more powerful cyclones than the 1964 cyclone, which had caused a lot of damage to the old bridge. MP Singh, Director (Operations) of Rail Development Corporation Limited (RVNL) said that the bridge has been designed to withstand the speed of 230 km per hour and earthquake weight. He told the media, “The cyclone wind speed of 1964 was about 160 kilometers per hour and had caused a lot of damage to the old bridge. However, Sherzar Span, which was opened for the movement of ships, survived the cyclone and did not harm it.” He said, “And we took additional measures to ensure that there could not be any harm to the high intensity cyclone bridge.” RVNL is responsible for the plan, design, implementation and commissioning of the first vertical lift spanner bridge. Singh said that it was one of the major factors that challenged us in the design phase.
Lift spanner will be in a sitting position all the time
In addition, there are some security protocols. For example, the lift spanner will be in a sitting position at all times and will be raised only at the time of movement of ships. Singh said that the girder on concrete pillars is 4.8 meters high than the sea level, so even in the event of high tide, the possibility of water level reaching the girder is almost negligible. He said, “The girder of the old bridge was 2.1 meters higher than the sea level, so during high tide, the water used to spill not only on the girders but also on the track.”
