CIVIL ENGINEERING WONDERS

India’s 11 Super Expressways

India, a developing country has world’s third largest road network but when we talk about expressways, we can hardly name a few like Mumbai-Pune Expressway and Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway. So we decided to tell you about some of the other expressways in India.
Here is the list of India’s top 11 Super Expressways
1) Ahmedabad Vadodara Expressway
Ahmedabad Vadodara Expressway is 95 km long and joins Ahmedabad and Baroda in Gujarat. It is also referred as National Expressway 1. This expressway was opened to public in 2004 and was constructed under the Golden Quadrilateral Project by NHAI.
2) Mumbai-Pune Expressway
Mumbai-Pune Expressway (official name is the Yashwantrao Chavan Expressway) is 93 km long and is considered as one of the best expressways in India. It is India’s first six lane high speed expressway and was made by Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) at a staggering cost of Rs 1,630 crore (US$363.49 million). It was opened to public in April 2002
3) Jaipur-Kishangarh Expressway
Jaipur-Kishangarh Expressway is 90km long and it connects Jaipur with Kishangarh. It was constructed under the Golden Quadrilateral National Highways Development Project and its cost was USD 154 million. More than 20,000 vehicles pass from this highway everyday.
4) Allahabad Bypass
Allahabad Bypass covers a distance of 86 km and is one of the most remarkable achievements of the Golden Quadrilateral project. It connects India’s four main metropolians New Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai.
5) Ambala Chandigarh Expressway
Ambala Chandigarh Expressway covers a distance of 35 km and has reduced the traffic congestion to a much greater extent. It was opened in 2009 and was built at a cost of Rs 298 crore ($66.45 million)
6) Chennai Bypass
Chennai Bypass covers a distance of 32 km and connects four national highways (NH45, NH4, NH205 and NH5) around Chennai. The cost of this project was Rs 405 crore (Rs 4.05 billion).
7) Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway
Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway covers a distance of 28 km and has been a life saver for commuters. Before construction of this expressway huge traffic jams were seen on the roads. Though this problem has not been solved 100% but still this expressway has brought some relief to the commuters. Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway starts at Dhaula Kuan in Delhi and ends at Manesar which is on the outskirts of Gurgaon. The cost of this project was $223 million and it was opened for public use in January 2008.
8 ) Noida-Greater Noida Expressway
Noida-Greater Noida Expressway covers a distance of 24.53 km. This six-lane highway connects Noida to Greater Noida. The total cost to build this expressway is about 400 crores (Rs 4 billion).
9) Delhi Noida Direct Flyway
Delhi Noida Direct Flyway or popularly known as the DND flyway is an eight lane road having a total length of 9.2 km and connects Delhi to Noida. It was built by The Noida Toll Bridge Company Ltd.
10) Hyderabad elevated expressway
Two separate elevated expressways were to be constructed in Hyderabad to overcome the congestion problem. The first one is P.V. Narasimha Rao Elevated Expressway which covers a distance of 11.6 km and the other Rajiv Elevated Expressway which will cover the distance of 20 km. P.V. Narasimha Rao Elevated Expressway was completed in 2009 and it connects Hyderabad International Airport to Mehdipatnam. Rajiv Elevated Expressway was proposed as an extension and will cover Secunderabad-Shamirpet stretch via Karkhana, Trimulgherry and Bollarum. But this project is currently under suspension due to high project costs.
11) Hosur Road Elevated Expressway
Hosur Road Elevated Expressway covers a distance of 9.98 km and connects Bangalore to Hosur. This expressway has the distinction of becoming the tallest expressway in Bangalore at the height of 17 meters i.e. 56 ft. This project was started in 2006 by BETL and was inaugurated on 22 January 2010.
We have many more expressways in India which are under construction or are already approved but work has not started yet. But still India needs many more of those expressways, to reduce the traveling time and for better connectivity across other Indian cities and states.

World’s Highest Railway Bridge To be Built In India

With aspiration of becoming a global superpower, India’s construction industry is now thinking beyond the box. Mumbai Worli Sea Link as one of the biggest achievements has boosted the construction industry and now they are building world’s highest railway bridge over Chenab in Reasi in Jammu between two villages Bakkal and Kauri.
The 1.3 km, 359 meters from the river bed is nick named as Sky Bridge and is part of the 73 km Katra-Dharam section of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link USBRL project.
Some facts about this Bridge
1) It will be 19 m higher than the currently tallest rail bridge i.e the bridge on France’s Tarn River (340m)
2) It will be 35 m taller than the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
3) It will be six times the height of the Panvalnadi bridge in Maharashtra which is considered asthe tallest so rail bridge in India so far
Bridge Design
The design of this bridge is divided as
1) A 467 meter steel arch in the centre
2) A 185-meter approach deck from the Bakkal end
3) A 650-meter approach deck from the Kauri end.
The construction details and photographs of this bridge are awaited.
We are very thankful to Er Vipun Paul for submitting this useful information to us.

Akashi Kaikyo Bridge

The Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge also popularly known as the Pearl Bridge, has the longest central span of any suspension bridge. The central span is staggering 1,991 metres (6,532 ft) making it a truly marvelous civil engineer wonder. Located in Japan, Akashi Kaikyo Bridge was completed in 1998 with the purpose of linking the city of Kobe on the mainland of Honsho to Iwaya on Awaji Island by crossing the busy Akashi Strait.
Construction Details
Central span – 1,991 metres (6,532 ft)
Steel – 181,000 tonnes ( It is said that total stell cable used in this bridge could encircle the entire world 7 times.)
Workers – 2 Million
Time- 10 years
Concrete – 1.4 million cubic metres
The bridge is constructed by using two main cables which strech between two towers. The road is supported by other cables which are eventually tied up with main cables. Two large anchor blocks on either end support this gigantic structure.

Burj Dubai – The New Level Of Civil Engineering

On 4th Jan 2010, the biggest civil engineering marvel was inaugurated with a spectacular display of water, sound, light, and fireworks.
The biggest marvel which has amazed one and all has been in minds of not only civil engineers but also in the minds of common people. The world’s tallest building is being unveiled in the middle of the a huge financial crises but this has not marred the spirit of Dubai.
The inauguration show consisted of a pre-show and three themed acts – From the Desert Flower to Burj Dubai, Heart Beat, and From Dubai ‘&’ the UAE to the World.
People of Dubai can watch this much awaited inauguration ceremony from the Waterfront Promenade close to The Dubai Mall.
As per Ahmad Al Matrooshi, Managing Director, UAE, Emaar Properties,
“Just as Burj Dubai leaves an indelible impression on the mind’s eye, so the performance dedicated to the tower’s inauguration on January 4 will be a memory to cherish.”
Burj Dubai is the tallest man-made structure with a staggering height of 824.55 m (2,705 ft). This ambitious project began on 21 September 2004 and is now opened exactly on schedule.



Here is the chronological overview of the project
In January 2004 the excavation of the area is started and piling work commenced in February 2004. The construction work was given to Emaar contractors in September 2004
The real structure began to rise in March 2005 and after 15months in June 2006 50th level is reached. Then came 2007 when all the records began to shatter as in February 2007, it surpassed The Sears Tower as the building with the most floors.Then on 13 May 2007 it sets a record for vertical concrete pumping on any building at 452 m (1,483 ft), shadowing the current record of Taipei 101 at 449.2 m (1,474 ft). Then on 21 July 2007, it minnowed Taipei 101 and reached level 141. Then till the year end, Burj Dubai had surpassed Sears Tower antenna and CN tower and reached 150 level.
In 2008, it became the the tallest man-made structure at level 160. On 1 September 2008 its height tops 688 m (2,257 ft), making it the tallest man-made structure ever built, surpassing the previous record-holder, the Warsaw Radio Mast in Konstantynów, Poland.
In 2009, it reached a breath taking height of 818 m (2,684 ft) and in Oct Emaar announced that it has completed the exterior and it will be opened in Jan 2010.
Watch the opening ceremony of Burj Dubai

AlpsCanalTunnel Waterway – Maglev

Tirol-Adria-Project (Tyrol-Adriatic Sea-Project) was filed at the EU-commission in Brussels (head office Energy and Traffic) and at governments of Berlin, Vienna, Rome, Munich, Innsbruck, Bozen and Trento and consists of the following proposals:
A: Tyrol-Adriatic Sea hydropower stations based on the deviation Inn-Etsch; Capacity of 3.500 MW, pumping capacity 2.000 MW.
B: Danube-Tyrol-Adriatic Sea-Waterway, the waterway Passau-Venice has a distance of 700 kilometres and is at the Po Valley already navigable.
Plus the following project conceptions, which add themselves up due to the building of the canal tunnel:
C: Maglev Train Munich-Verona (330 kilometres).
D: High-Voltage-DC-feed conduit on the maglev’s line Munich-Verona through the Alps-canal-tunnel. This line could also function as part of the solar power-bridge Africa-Europe (distance: 1.000 kilometres), as the hydropower stations on the Alps’ southside can be embedded as regulating power stations.