Havelock Old Railway bridge on Godavari River

The Old Godavari Bridge (also known as The Havelock Bridge) is a decommissioned bridge that spans the Godavari River in

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. Commissioned in 1900, the bridge served trains plying between Howrah and Madras. It is the earliest of three bridges that span the Godavari River at

Rajahmundry Rajahmundry, officially known as Rajamahendravaram, is a city in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh and District headquarters of East Godavari district. It is the sixth most populated city in the state. During British rule, the District of Rajah ...

. The

Godavari Arch Bridge The Godavari Arch Bridge is a bowstring-girder bridge that spans the Godavari River in Rajahmundry, India. It is the latest of the three bridges that span the Godavari river at Rajahmundry. The Havelock Bridge being the earliest, was built in ...

was later constructed as a replacement for the Havelock Bridge. The bridge along with the Godavari bridge and

is one of the most recognised symbols of

and of the state of

History

The construction of the bridge commenced on 11 November 1897 and opened for traffic on 30 August 1900. The Bridge was named after Sir Arthur Elibank Havelock, the then Governor of Madras. Frederick Thomas Granville Walton served as the Engineer-in-chief assisted by executive engineers R.A.Delanougerede, F.D.Couchman, J.E.Eaglesome. The bridge was constructed with stone masonry and steel girders. It has 56 spans each of and is long. The girders were fabricated by

Butterley Company The Butterley Company was an English manufacturing firm founded as Benjamin Outram and Company in 1790. Its subsidiaries existed until 2009. Origins This area of Derbyshire had been known for its outcrops of iron ore which had been exploited at ...

of Ripley, Derbyshire The rail bridge served the busy Howrah-

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

line until its decommissioning. Having served its full life span of 100 years, it was decommissioned in 1997, and

was built as a replacement for the bridge. Today, the bridge is being used to host civic water supply pipelines.

Present status

After being planned to be converted into a national monument, historic monument now its finally planned to be converted into a tourist spot, as a pedestrian pathway. In 2008 the Municipal Corporation of Rajahmundry passed a resolution expressing willingness to take up the beautification project. With the Railways Ministry not coming forward for implementation of the project, Former Member of Parliament Vundavalli Aruna Kumar has appealed to the Railways Ministry for the approval of the project. the project was still awaiting funds to commence.

Sister bridges

* Godavari Bridge *

References

{{Godavari basin Bridges completed in 1900 Bridges in Andhra Pradesh Bridges over the Godavari river Buildings and structures in Rajahmundry Transport in Rajahmundry Buildings and structures in East Godavari district Transport in East Godavari district Former railway bridges in India 1900 establishments in India

History

Present status

Sister bridges

See also

References