Scribd
Upload
2K views23 pages

Howrah Bridge

The Howrah Bridge is a cantilever truss bridge built in 1943 over the Hooghly River in Kolkata, India. It carries over 100,000 vehicles and 150,000 pedestrians daily, making it one of the busiest cantilever bridges in the world. The bridge was constructed using 26,500 tons of steel, with 23,000 tons supplied by Tata Steel. It has a central span of 1500 feet between the main towers and anchor arms of 325 feet, with cantilever arms of 468 feet each. The bridge features expansion and articulation joints to accommodate movement from temperature changes and traffic loads.

Uploaded by

MOHIT KUMAR
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
2K views23 pages

Howrah Bridge

The Howrah Bridge is a cantilever truss bridge built in 1943 over the Hooghly River in Kolkata, India. It carries over 100,000 vehicles and 150,000 pedestrians daily, making it one of the busiest cantilever bridges in the world. The bridge was constructed using 26,500 tons of steel, with 23,000 tons supplied by Tata Steel. It has a central span of 1500 feet between the main towers and anchor arms of 325 feet, with cantilever arms of 468 feet each. The bridge features expansion and articulation joints to accommodate movement from temperature changes and traffic loads.

Uploaded by

MOHIT KUMAR
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 23

HOWRAH

BRIDGE
MAHENDRA RAJ BHARTI (2016 UAR 1607)
MOHIT KUMAR (2016 UAR 1552)
ABHISHEK KUMAR (2016 UAR 1431)
INTRODUCTION
o The Rabindra Setu or more famously called the Howrah Bridge over the Hooghly is
primarily a cantilever truss bridge, built in the year 1943. The bridge is completely made up
of steel.
o It carries a daily traffic of approximately 100,000 vehicles and possibly more than 150,000
pedestrians, making it one of the busiest cantilever bridges in the world.
o At the time of its construction, it was the 3rd longest cantilever bridge. Now, it is the sixth
longest bridge of its type in the world!
o The bridge does not have nuts and bolts and was built by riveting the whole structure.
o 26,500 tons of steel was consumed in the construction of Howrah Bridge, out of which
23,000 tons of high-tensile alloy steel, was supplied by Tata Steel.
• Central span 1500 ft between centres of main towers
• Anchor arm 325ft each
• Cantilever arm 468ft each
• Suspended span 564ft
• Main towers are 280ft high above the monoliths and 76 ft apart at the
top
• Bridge deck width 71 ft with two footpaths of 15 ft either side
HISTORY
By the 19th century, Calcutta and Howrah had
grown to be the most important economic
and cultural centers, and a need for bridging
the Hooghly River arose.

A proposal to build a bridge over the Hooghly


was made by the government of Bengal, but
the following observations were made :

• The foundations for a bridge at Calcutta


would be at a considerable depth because
of the depth of the mud there.

• The structure would cause considerable


hindrance to the shipping on the river

• The only feasible site was at a great


distance.
WHAT ABOUT THE PILLARS…??
There are mainly two reasons which are responsible behind such a large span
without any columns-

o It is a Cantilever bridge.
o It is made up of Trusses.
CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES:
CHALLENGES
o The existing bridge was not built then.
o The famous Floating Pontoon Bridge was built in 1874 by Sir Bradford Leslie. The Floating
Pontoon Bridge was built using timber on pontoon. The bridge was opened to let river
traffic through.
o The bridge had hinged shore spans since Hooghly River is subjected to tides. During high
tides these became very steep.
o It was also feared that the floating bridge could affect river currents and cause silting
problems. With time the bridge became too inadequate for the ever increasing traffic.
CONSTRUCTION
Construction of the New Howrah Bridge was started on 1937. The Cantilever Era was prevailing at
that time, and engineers felts that Cantilever bridges were more rigid than suspension bridge. This
bridge is one of the finest Cantilever bridges in the world - left to India by the British engineers.

Considering various aspects like


navigational, hydraulics, tidal
conditions of the river and the
projected traffic conditions,
‘Rendel Palmer & Tritton’ came up
with a design for a Cantilever
bridge of 1500 feet, with a 71 feet
wide roadway and two 15 feet
wide cantilever footways.
o The contract was awarded to Cleveland
Bridge & Engineering Co. Ltd of Darlington
with a strong recommendation that they
use Indianmade steel, which they agreed
to do. Out of the total 26,500 tons of steel
used, Tata Iron and Steel Company
supplied 23,500 tons of steel.

o The two halves of the suspended span,


each long and weighing 2,000 tons, were
built in December 1941. 16 hydraulic jacks,
each of 800 ton capacity were pressed in
to service for joining the two halves of the
suspended span.

o After completing the steel work of the


deck and concreting of roadway. the
New Howrah Bridge was finally opened to
traffic on February 1943.
Other Features:
o All members of the super structure comprise built up
riveted sections with a combination of high tensile
and mild steel
o Between towers bridge deck hangs from panel points
in the lower chord of the main trusses with a series of
hungers (39 pairs)
o Road way beyond the tower is supported on ground
leaving anchor arm free from deck loads
o Bridge deck comprises 71 ft carriage way and 15 ft
footway projecting either side of the trusses and
braced by a longitudinal fascia girder.
More about the Bridge:
o The deck system consists of cross girders
hung between pairs of hungers with
pinned connection.
o Six rows of longitudinal stringer girders
span between cross girder.
o Floor joists supported transversely on top
of stringers.
o They support a continuous pressed steel
troughing system.
o Over which deck concrete is laid out
Joint System of Bridge (Expansion Joints):

o Longitudinal expansion and lateral sway


movement of the deck are taken care of by
expansion and articulation joints.
o There are two main expansion joints, one at each
interface between the suspended span and the
cantilever arms.
o There are expansion joints at the towers and at the
interface of steel and concrete structures at both
approach.

Articulation Joints:

o There are total 8 articulation joints.


o 3 at each of the cantilever arms.
o 2 in the suspended portions.
o They divide the bridge into segments with vertical
pin connection between them to facilitate
rotational movements of the deck.
Camber and Traffic clearance:

o Bridge deck has longitudinal ruling gradient


of 1 in 40 from either end
o They are joined by a vertical curve of radius
4000 ft.
o Cross gradient of deck is 1 in 48 between
kerbs and central 4.9mtr. is level to provide
tramway housing channel in between
troughing
Foundation:
o The main tower is founded with single
monoliths which are 55.31 x 24.8m in
plan with 21 chambers
o Monoliths at Calcutta and Howrah side
are founded 31.41 m and 26.53 m in
below ground level respectively.
o Minimum headroom in carriageway is
5.8 m
o Freeboard for river traffic is 8.8
THANK YOU.

You might also like