World's Highest Railroad Arch Span Is Taking Shape in India

摘要

Engineers in India are preparing to slide into place a bridge deck that will be 359 meters above a remote Himalayan valley, aiming to complete the world's highest arch railroad crossing by 2023. Difficult terrain and harsh weather helped extend construction of the Chenab River span to nearly two decades. So inaccessible was the valley in Jammu and Kashmir that engineers preparing to bid the contract had to travel on horseback to the site. In 2004, construction was initially set to last about three years, but the project reached its peak in April when the last steelwork section was completed. Located about 100 km north of Jammu, the 467-m-long Chenab arch is one of the last major elements of the 272-km Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Railroad.