"Howrah Bridge- now at the age of 75"

British legacy that has left a permanent mark on February 3, 1943. This bridge was once the capital of  British India.

• ·        This bridge is the busiest cantilever bridge in the world,
• ·        the earliest among the  four  bridges on the Hooghly River and,
• ·        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.