Ahmedabad-Mumbai Bullet Train Project, 12-storey high river bridge: Bridge over Sabarmati river completed, bridge constructed using balanced cantilever method

While the work of the country's most important bullet train project, i.e. the Ahmedabad-Mumbai bullet train project, is progressing at a rapid pace, the construction of a 480 meter long bridge over the Sabarmati river in Ahmedabad has been completed. The bridge is about 36 meters (about 118 feet) tall and is as tall as a 12-storey building. The bridge is located near the Ahmedabad-Delhi main railway line of the Western Railway, which is about 14.8 meters above the ground. The bridge is located at a distance of 1 km from Sabarmati station and 4 km from Ahmedabad station. The bridge is constructed using a balanced cantilever method. The 480-metre-long bridge over the Sabarmati river of the bullet train has been raised to maintain vertical clearance. The work on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail Corridor is underway in the states of Maharashtra and Gujarat. The bullet train corridor consists of flyovers, bridges, railway lines and metro corridors. The height of the pillars of the Sabarmati River Bridge has been kept higher to maintain the vertical clearance required by the existing infrastructure. 4 pillars on the river bed and 2 pillars on both banks of the river. The bridge has 8 circular pillars, which range in diameter from 6 to 6.5 meters. Out of these, 4 pillars are on the river bed and 2 pillars are on both sides of the river—1 on each side, while 2 piers are located outside the riverbank. The strategic alignment of the pillars has ensured minimum obstruction in the river's water flow. The bridge consists of 5 spans of 76 meters and 2 spans of 50 meters. Most of the river bridges in the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train corridor have short spans of about 40 meters, while Sabarmati river bridge has spans ranging from 50 to 76 meters. This has helped in reducing the number of piers required in the river bed. The bridge consists of 5 spans of 76 meters and 2 spans of 50 meters. Each span consists of 23 segments, the casting of which has been done in-situ at the construction site. The construction of this segment has required a high level of precision engineering, skilled manpower as well as quality checks at every stage. Construction of super-structures without erecting conventional scaffolding under the deck of the bridge The bridge has been constructed by the Balanced Cantilever Method. This is a unique construction method, suitable for the construction of long span bridges over rivers and deep waterways. In this method, super-structures can be constructed without the traditional scaffolding under the deck of the bridge. The segments from the piers are gradually installed and connected by post-tensioning. A stable and continuous bridge deck is prepared by constructing balanced on both sides of each pier. The Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train corridor has a total of 25 river bridges, of which 21 are in Gujarat and 4 in Maharashtra. Out of 21 identified river bridges in Gujarat, construction of 18 has been completed.