British
legacy that has left a permanent mark on February 3, 1943. This bridge was once
the capital of British India.
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This bridge is the
busiest cantilever bridge in the world,
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the earliest among
the four bridges on the Hooghly River and,
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Currently, the sixth-longest bridge of
its type in the world.
The
bridge was originally named the New Howrah Bridge, because it replaced a
pontoon bridge at the same location linking the two cities of Howrah and
Kolkata (Calcutta). On 14 June 1965 it was renamed as Rabindra Setu after the
great Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore (first Indian and Asian Nobel laureate)
It is still popularly known as the Howrah Bridge. The bridge had celebrated its
75th anniversary on February 3, 2018. It serves as a crucial gateway to the
city for one lakh+ vehicles and over 1.5 lakh pedestrians daily.
Brief History of 'pontoon bridge'
In view of the
increasing traffic across the Hooghly river, a committee was appointed in
1855-56 to review alternatives for constructing a bridge across it. The plan
was shelved in 1859-60, to be revived in 1868, when it was decided that a
bridge should be constructed and a newly appointed trust vested to manage it.
The Calcutta Port Trust was founded in 1870 and the Legislative department of
the then Government of Bengal passed the Howrah Bridge Act in the year 1871
under the Bengal Act IX of 1871 empowering the Lieutenant-Governor to have the
bridge constructed with Government capital under the aegis of the Port
Commissioners. Eventually a contract was signed with Sir Bradford Leslieto
construct a pontoon bridge(The old pontoon bridge that was later replaced by
the Howrah Bridge). Different parts were constructed in England and shipped to
Calcutta, where they were assembled for the construction of the bridge. The
assembling period was gone through many difficulties and hurdles. The bridge
was damaged by the great cyclone on 20 March. later, a steamer named 'Egeria'
broke from her moorings and collided head-on with the bridge, sinking three
pontoons and damaging nearly 200 feet of the bridge. After the couple of years
the bridge was successfully completed in 1874 at a total cost of ₹2.2 million
and opened to traffic on 17 October of that year. The bridge was then 1528 ft.
long and 62 ft. wide, with 7-foot wide pavements on either side.
Planning
and construction of --- 'Howrah Bridge'
In
1922 the New Howrah Bridge Commission was set up. In 1926 the New Howrah Bridge
Act passed. In 1930 the Goode Committee was formed comprising S.W. Goode as
President, S.N. Mallick, and W.H. Thompson, to investigate and report on the
advisability of constructing a pier bridge between Calcutta and Howrah. Based
on their recommendation, M/s. Rendel, Palmer and Tritton were asked to consider
the construction of a suspension bridge of a particular design prepared by
their chief draftsman Mr. Walton. On basis of the report, a global tender was
floated. The lowest bid came from a German company, but due to increasing
political tensions between Germany and Great Britain in 1935, the contract was
not given to them. "The fabrication and erection work was awarded to a
local engineering firm of Howrah: The Braithwaite, Burn & Jessop
Construction Co..The Braithwaite, Burn & Jessop Construction Co. was also
awarded the construction contract that year". The New Howrah Bridge Act
was amended in 1935 to reflect this, and construction of the bridge started the
next year.
The bridge doesn't
have nuts and bolts but was formed by riveting the whole structure. It consumed
26,500 tons of steel, out of which 23,000 tons of high-tensile alloy steel,
known as Tiscrom, were supplied by Tata Steel. The main tower was constructed
with single monolith caissons of dimensions 55.31 x 24.8 m with 21 shafts, each
6.25 metre square. The two anchorage caissons were each 16.4 m by 8.2 m, with
two wells 4.9 m square. The caissons were so designed that the working chambers
within the shafts could be temporarily enclosed by steel diaphragms to allow
work under compressed air if required. The caisson at Kolkata side was set at
31.41 m and that at Howrah side at 26.53 m below ground level.
The bridge doesn't
have nuts and bolts but was formed by riveting the whole structure. It consumed
26,500 tons of steel, out of which 23,000 tons of high-tensile alloy steel,
known as Tiscrom, were supplied by Tata Steel. The main tower was constructed
with single monolith caissons of dimensions 55.31 x 24.8 m with 21 shafts, each
6.25 metre square. The two anchorage caissons were each 16.4 m by 8.2 m, with
two wells 4.9 m square. The caissons were so designed that the working chambers
within the shafts could be temporarily enclosed by steel diaphragms to allow
work under compressed air if required. The caisson at Kolkata side was set at
31.41 m and that at Howrah side at 26.53 m below ground level.
By the end of 1940,
the erection of the cantilevered arms was commenced and was completed in
mid-summer of 1941. The two halves of the suspended span, each 282 feet (86 m)
long and weighing 2,000 tons, were built in December 1941. The bridge was
erected by commencing at the two anchor spans and advancing towards the center,
with the use of creeper cranes moving along the upper chord. 16 hydraulic
jacks, each of which had an 800-ton capacity, were pressed into service to join
the two halves of the suspended span. The entire project cost ₹25 million.The
project was a pioneer in bridge construction particularly in India.
The
first vehicle to use the bridge was a 'solitary tram'. The bridge is regarded
"the gateway to Kolkata, as it connects the city to the "Howrah
Station"
Present Status of the Bridge as per -"Anandabazar Patrika"
- Bridge is open to traffic round
the clock except for goods vehicles, Inter- State transport buses and All India
Tourist buses (only Three- -Wheeler-Goods vehicles are allowed at night).
- Special repairs and restoration of
bearings in the under-structures have been completed.
- Total renewal of mastic asphalt
topping of bridge was completed in December 2006.
- Bank protection scheme around
Tower Monoliths is being finalized.
- Decorative Illumination of the
Bridge Structure was inaugurated in 23.11.2006 and is operated daily.
- Close Circuit T.V is being
installed in the Deck level and under structure of the Bridge to monitor the
traffic at the deck level and along the river.or routine inspection.
- Thorough painting of the bridge
was completed in June 2005.