World's tallest bridge, now in Jammu

The tallest bridge in the world is in France and is over 300 metres high. But soon a rail bridge being constructed in Jammu will stand much taller. The world's tallest rail bridge is coming up at Kauri, a hamlet in Jammu's Reasi district. When it is completed by December 2009, the bridge will rise 359 m above the Chenab River. The tallest road bridge in the world is the 343 m high Millau Viaduct in France. "The Millau Bridge in France is 300 m high and the height of its pillars is 343 m. If that's considered the tallest in the world, then definitely this is taller than that," said Ishwar Chand, Deputy Chief Engineer, Chenab Bridge Project. The Chenab bridge will be 1,315 m long and is being built at a cost of over Rs 600 crore, across a highly seismic zone. The bridge is an engineering marvel and is being built using high quality earthquake resistant steel. The bridge will eventually make the Valley accessible by train and remove the biggest stumbling block for the Jammu-Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla railway route, which is full of tunnels and difficult terrain. Work on the Jammu-Udhampur line was completed in 2004 but it will be years before the full route is operational. The laying of tracks has started in the north of Udhampur, which will connect Katra and make it easy for Vaishno Devi pilgrims to reach there. Bahadur Singh, a local resident said, "It was a very far flung area, but now its entire picture has changed. Earlier, there was a lot of problem when going to Jammu or Srinagar, but now it will be much easier". Once the railway line is complete, remote areas of the state will be connected to the rest of the country and trade and commerce in the Valley will receive a huge boost.