500 hanger cables replaced on iconic Godavari bow string arch railway bridge in Andhra

Vijayawada: The South Coast Railway Zone has successfully replaced 500 of the 672 corroded hanger cables of the iconic Godavari Bow String Arch Railway Bridge between Kovvuru and Rajamundry over the mighty Godavari River.

Achieving a significant engineering milestone in the ongoing 'rehabilitation' of the historic bridge, bridge number 248, 74 per cent of the hangers have been replaced without interrupting rail movement, said an official release from the Vijayawada Division of the railway zone on Friday.

"South Coast Railway (Zone) has achieved a significant engineering milestone in the ongoing rehabilitation of the historic Bow String Arch Railway Bridge (Bridge No. 248) across the Godavari River at Rajahmundry. 500 out of the total 672 corroded hanger cables have been successfully replaced," it said.


As part of the rehabilitation project on the busy Vijayawada-Visakhapatnam section, ageing DINA cables were replaced with a modern corrosion-resistant cable system, conforming to international standards.

Simultaneously, 20 out of the 28 spans of the 30-year-old bridge, 71 per cent, have been completed with hanger cables replacement without affecting passenger and freight train movement.

"The project is one of the most complex bridge rehabilitation works undertaken by Indian Railways as every stage of cable replacement is being executed under continuous railway traffic while maintaining the bridge's structural stability," the release said.

The newly installed hanger cables comprise high-UTS strength PSC strands with an advanced four-layer corrosion protection system imported from a European country, wax-filled anchorages, and modern stressing methodology.

The stressing methodology was designed by international cable-stayed bridge experts from Italy and the installation was carried out in constant touch with IIT - Mumbai engineers, thereby significantly enhancing the safety, durability, and service life of the iconic bridge.

To further strengthen asset safety and predictive maintenance, South Coast Railway Zone has also initiated a state-of-the-art Bridge Health Monitoring System (BHMS) on the bridge with Australia-based instrumentation experts.

More than 272 smart sensors have been initiated to provide round-the-clock real-time monitoring of the 2.8-km-long bridge's structural behaviour.

The cloud-based monitoring system continuously analyses data related to arch movement, hanger forces, deck behaviour, wind effects and environmental conditions, enabling early warning and proactive maintenance through a permanent BHMS Lab located on the Rajahmundry side of the bridge, the release said.

Being executed under an EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) contract, the rehabilitation work is scheduled for completion within a stipulated timeframe.

Upon completion, the project will substantially improve the structural reliability and longevity of one of India's most iconic railway bridges while preserving its heritage value for future generations, the release said.

The newly created South Coast Railway Zone continues to leverage advanced engineering practices, modern monitoring technologies and meticulous project execution to strengthen railway infrastructure and provide safe, reliable and sustainable transportation services to the nation, it added.