>BrownHairedGirl at 14:08, 30 June 2021

2021-06-30T14:08:32Z

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{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=June 2018}}
{{More citations needed|date=April 2008}}
{{Infobox bridge
| bridge_name = Godavari Bridge
| native_name =
| native_name_lang =
| image = File:Nwgbridge.JPG
| image_size = 250px
| alt =
| caption = The Godavari Bridge across Godavari River
| official_name =
| other_name = Rajahmundry–Kovvur Bridge
| carries = Two lanes of Road and Single Railway line.
| crosses = [[Godavari River]]
| locale = [[Rajahmundry]]
| owner =
| maint =
| id =
| website =
| architect =
| designer =
| engineering = [[Braithwaite, Burn & Jessop Construction Company]]
| design = [[Truss Bridge]]
| material =
| length = {{convert|4.1|km|mi}}
| width =
| height =
| mainspan = {{convert|91.5|m|ft|0}}
| spans = 27
| pierswater =
| load =
| clearance =
| below =
| life =
| builder =
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| begin =
| complete =
| cost =
| open = 16 August 1974
| inaugurated =
| toll =
| traffic =
| preceded = [[Old Godavari Bridge|The Havelock Bridge]]
| followed = [[Godavari Arch Bridge]]
| heritage =
| collapsed =
| closed =
| replaces =
| map_cue =
| map_image =
| map_alt =
| map_text =
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| coordinates = {{coord|16|59|52|N|81|45|21|E|type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
| lat =
| long =
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}}
The '''Godavari Bridge''' or '''Kovvur–Rajahmundry Bridge''' is [[truss bridge]] spanning [[Godavari River]] in [[Rajahmundry]], [[India]]. It is [[List of longest bridges above water in India|India's third longest road-cum-rail bridge]] crossing a water body, first one is The [[Bogibeel Bridge]] is rail-cum-road bridge over the Brahmaputra river in the Dibrugarh district of Assam state in north-east India,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.livemint.com/Politics/N677hsFyQ81hYDZ4t2KboN/Bogibeel-Indias-longest-railroad-bridge-has-lifespan-of-a.html|title=Bogibeel: India’s longest rail-road bridge has lifespan of around 120 years}}</ref> and second is [[Digha–Sonpur Bridge]] over Ganges in Bihar.

The Godavari bridge is 4.1 kilometers (2.8 km Rail part & 4.1 km Road part) long consisting of 27 spans of 91.5 m and 7 spans of 45.72 m of which 6 spans of 45.72m are in 6 deg. curve at long [[Rajahmundry]] end to make up for the built up area. The bridge has a road deck over the [[Single track (rail)|single track]] rail deck, similar to the [[Grafton Bridge, New South Wales|Grafton Bridge]] in [[New South Wales]], [[Australia]]. This bridge, in addition to [[Godavari Arch Bridge]], has been widely used to represent [[Rajahmundry]] in [[arts]], [[Mass media|media]], and [[culture]]. It is one of the recognised symbols of [[Rajahmundry]].<ref>http://www.thehindubusinessline.in/2006/03/06/stories/2006030601050500.htm {{Bare URL inline|date=June 2021}}</ref>

==Geography==
The road-cum-rail bridge is built across the [[Godavari River]] (largest river in [[South India]] at over {{Convert|1000|km}} length) as it enters into the deltaic reach before [[debouching]] into the sea {{Convert|60|km}} downstream of the bridge, the second largest river in India. At the location of the bridge, near [[Rajahmundry]], the river flows with a width of about {{Convert|2.7|km}}, split in two channels with an island formation in between. The maximum discharge observed in the river is reported to be around 3 million m<sup>3</sup>/s and the maximum velocity of water flow as {{Convert|5|m}} per second

==History==

===Construction===
During the Third Five-Year plan doubling of railway track between [[Chennai]]-[[Howrah]] was planned. Most of the route had been doubled except the small stretch of track between [[Kovvur]] and [[Rajahmundry]] where a bridge had to be built to span the three kilometer long [[Godavari River]]. During 1964, the construction of second bridge across [[Godavari river]] at [[Rajahmundry]] was sanctioned as a part of doubling of track between [[Kovvur]] and [[Rajahmundry]]. But there had been a persistent demand from local population for construction of a road link between [[Kovvur]] and [[Rajahmundry]], which would essentially link [[East Godavari]] and [[West Godavari]] districts. The [[Government of Andhra Pradesh|Andhra Pradesh State Government]] came forward with the proposal to add a road deck over the rail bridge under construction as a part of doubling the railway track between [[Chennai]]-[[Howrah]].<ref>{{cite book|last=R.R.|first=Bhandari|title=Bridges: A Spectacular Feat of Indian Engineering|url=http://irsme.nic.in/files/mmfiles/BRIDGES_RRB.pdf|access-date=9 June 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305002840/http://irsme.nic.in/files/mmfiles/BRIDGES_RRB.pdf|archive-date=5 March 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>

It was commissioned by [[South Central Railway]] division of [[Indian Railways]]. Construction of the bridge began in the early 1970s by [[Braithwaite, Burn & Jessop Construction Company]], a group company of Bharat Bhari Udyog Nigam Limited.<ref>{{cite web|title=Godavari Bridge|url=http://en.structurae.de/structures/data/index.cfm?id=s0007364|publisher=Structurae|access-date=26 June 2018}}</ref> When completed it was Asia's longest rail -cum- road bridge.

It was inaugurated by the then [[President of India]], [[Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed]] in 1974.

==Sister bridges==

===Old Godavari bridge===
The [[Old Godavari Bridge]] or Havelock Bridge was built in 1900 by Mr.F.T.G.Walton, now decommissioned, this bridge has 56 spans and is 2754 m long. It was constructed with stone masonry and steel girders and certainly a marvel of British engineering. The New Godavari Bridge was made as a substitute for it.

===Godavari arch bridge===
[[Godavari Arch Bridge]] is the third bridge constructed near Rajahmundry. Constructed by the [[Hindustan Construction Company]] (HCC), this bridge is a modern-day engineering feat. The bridge is made of bow string girder arches. The bridge is fit for 350 km/h rail services. It was commissioned for passenger traffic in March 1997 and became fully operational for running trains by the Indian Railways from 2003.

===Fourth Godavari bridge===
New Kovvur–Rajahmundry [[Godavari Fourth Bridge|4th Bridge]] was opened to traffic in 2015.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/telangana/fourth-bridge-across-godavari-likely-to-ease-traffic-congestion/article7020105.ece|title=Fourth bridge across Godavari|work=[[The Hindu]] newspaper.|access-date=8 May 2018}}</ref>

==Panorama==
[[File:Panorama_Rajahmundry_Rail_Cum_Road_Bridge.jpg|thumb|center|800px]]

== See also ==
* [[List of road-rail bridges]]
*[[List of longest bridges in the world]]
*[[List of longest bridges above water in India]]

== Gallery ==
<gallery>
File:Sunset View at Godavari.jpg|Sunset View at Cotton Barrage in [[Rajamahendravaram]] City.
File:Nwgbridge.JPG|Sunset at the Bridge
File:Newgbridge1.jpg|Sunset at the Bridge
File:Nwgbridge2.jpg|Starting of the bridge. Notice the elevated road going over the bridge to join it.
File:Goadavari bridge full view.JPG|Stretch of Godavari Bridge. This is only the half of the bridge
</gallery>

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{commons category}}
{{Godavari basin}}

[[Category:Bridges in Andhra Pradesh]]
[[Category:Bridges completed in 1977]]
[[Category:1977 establishments in Andhra Pradesh]]
[[Category:Truss bridges]]
[[Category:Bridges over the Godavari river]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Rajahmundry]]
[[Category:Transport in Rajahmundry]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in West Godavari district]]
[[Category:Transport in West Godavari district]]
[[Category:Road bridges in India]]
[[Category:Double-decker bridges]]
[[Category:Road-rail bridges in India]]

Godavari Bridge - Revision history

>BrownHairedGirl at 14:08, 30 June 2021