Ahmedabad-Mumbai Bullet Train Project: 480-Metre Sabarmati River Bridge Completed In Ahmedabad

The Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail corridor has achieved another major construction milestone with the completion of a 480-metre-long bridge over the Sabarmati River in Ahmedabad.

The bridge is located between the Sabarmati and Ahmedabad bullet train stations, around 1 km from Sabarmati station and 4 km from Ahmedabad station.

Bridge Stands 36 Metres High

The bridge rises approximately 36 metres (118 feet), making it roughly as tall as a 12-storey building. It is one of the key structures on the high-speed rail corridor in Ahmedabad.

The bridge deck passes around 14.8 metres above ground level, alongside Western Railway’s Ahmedabad-Delhi main railway line.

As the bullet train alignment passes over existing infrastructure, including flyovers, bridges, railway lines and metro corridors, the bridge’s piers have been designed taller than usual to maintain the required vertical clearance.

Eight Circular Piers Built To Minimise River Obstruction

The bridge has been constructed on eight circular piers, each measuring between 6 and 6.5 metres in diameter.

Their placement has been carefully planned, with:

• Four piers located within the riverbed
• Two piers on the riverbanks, one on each side
• Two piers beyond the riverbanks

The arrangement is designed to minimise obstruction to the flow of the Sabarmati River.

Longer Spans Reduce Number Of River Piers

Unlike several other river bridges on the bullet train corridor, where spans are generally around 40 metres, the Sabarmati bridge uses significantly longer spans ranging from 50 to 76 metres.

The bridge consists of five 76-metre spans and two 50-metre spans. Each span comprises 23 segments, which were cast in situ at the construction site.

The longer spans have helped reduce the number of piers required within the riverbed.

Balanced Cantilever Method Used For Construction

The bridge has been built using the Balanced Cantilever Method, a construction technique suited to structures where conventional scaffolding within the river is difficult or undesirable.

Under this method, bridge deck segments are attached in a balanced manner on either side of the piers and subsequently secured through post-tensioning. This enabled construction of the deck without traditional scaffolding in the river.

18 Of 21 Gujarat River Bridges Completed

A total of 25 river bridges are planned along the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail corridor. Of these, 21 are in Gujarat and four are in Maharashtra.

With the completion of the Sabarmati River bridge, construction of 18 of the 21 planned river bridges in Gujarat has now been completed.

The milestone adds another major piece of infrastructure to the Ahmedabad section of the country's ambitious high-speed rail corridor.