Chenab Bridge: How project team navigated through steep slopes on horses, mules

To realise the vision of travelling from "Kashmir to Kanyakumari" by rail, the project team behind the construction of the Chenab bridge faced several challenges. Among them was how to reach the location surrounded by the steep slopes of the Himalayas.

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The team had only one option -- horses and mules.

According to Afcons Infrastructure Limited, the top infrastructure company that constructed the bridge, one of the main and earliest challenges was access to the bridge location, to transport equipment and construction materials.

"Initially, mules and horses were used by the project team to reach the location. Slowly over a period, tempo-rary roads were created and access was made available to the site," a spokesperson from the company said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday inaugurated the iconie Chenab Bridge, Anji Rail Bridge and Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) project and flagged off Vande Bharat trains, connecting Katra to Srinagar.

The spokesperson added that eventually, on the North side of the river bank, an 11-km road was con-structed and a 12-km road on the South side.