The Railways is constructing the world's tallest bridge pier in Manipur which is a part of the 111 km long Jiribam-Imphal railway project.

According to the railways, the Northeast Frontier Railway is constructing the world's tallest bridge pier in Manipur which is a part of the 111 km Jiribam-Imphal railway project.

The bridge is being built at a pier height of 141 metres (equivalent to a 34-storey building), breaking the existing record of the 139-metre Mala-Rijeka viaduct, at Montenegro in Europe.

"With the completion of the project the 111 km of distance will be covered in 2-2.5 hrs. Presently the distance between Jiribam-Imphal (NH-37) is 220 km, which took about 10-12 hrs of travelling. After the construction, the bridge crossing Noney valley will become the world's highest pier bridge," Sandeep Sharma, Chief Engineer of the project quoted by ANI.

The project is part of the government’s ‘Act East’ policy, focused on connecting all state capitals in the Northeast with broad gauge and strengthening rail networks in border areas of the region.

The railways point out that the bridge will be 703 meters. "The total length of the bridge will be 703 meters. The piers of the bridge are constructed using hydraulic augers. The tall piers needed specially designed ‘slip-form technique’ to ensure efficient and continual construction," Railway Ministry has said.

Reportedly, the project is to be completed by March 2022. A budget of Rs. 13,809 crore was announced by the Central Government. This project was taken up in 2008 and declared as the National Project.

(with ANI inputs)

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