Repair of rail bridge over Tunga river completed in record time.

Taking advantage of the suspension of passenger train services due to the lockdown, the authorities completed a major bridge repair work in the Mysuru Railway Division in a record time of seven days.

The re-girdering of bridge number 86 across the Tunga river in the Birur-Shivamogga section was taken up in the last week of April.

The bridge was constructed in the late 1800s by the Mysore State Railway for the metre gauge railway line, which was in place then. The nearly-350-metre-long bridge has 15 spans of 18.30 metres each.

A release said it was “re-braced in 1994 when the section was converted to broad gauge, but still it was non-standard requiring frequent work on the bearings and rivets, which resulted in speed restrictions on trains.”

The bridge has been made fit for 25-ton loading standards to cater to traffic with high speed. The work was completed at a cost of ₹5 crore. This work was in the pipeline for over four years, the release stated.

The re-girdering work called for massive off-site and on-site preparations, like fabrication and preparing the work site. The intense activity saw deployment of four cranes and two earthmovers to replace 15 spans of girders at a height of 6 metres above the river.

The other challenge was to mobilise men and machines, and retention of labour – nearly 120 persons in all – including taking care of their accommodation and food during the duration of the repair work.

Ms. Aparna Garg, Divisional Railway Manager, Mysuru, said in the last two years re-girdering of all the three major bridges – across Bhadra, Tunga Bhadra and now Tunga river – in the division has been completed. This is expected to improve operational efficiency and safety.

THE HINDU