The Golden Bridge connects

Ankleshwar Ankleshwar (sometimes written Ankaleshwar; ISO: ''Aṁkalēśvara'') is a city in the Bharuch district in the state of Gujarat, India. The city is located 14 kilometres from Bharuch. The village of Adadara is in Ankleshwar division. Industr ...

Bharuch Bharuch () is a city at the mouth of the river Narmada in Gujarat in western India. Bharuch is the administrative headquarters of Bharuch District. The city of Bharuch and surroundings have been settled since times of antiquity. It was a shi ...

in the

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

state of western

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. It was built in 1881 by the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

, who needed a bridge across the

Narmada River The Narmada River, previously also known as ''Narbada'' or anglicised as ''Nerbudda'', is the 5th longest river in India and overall the longest west-flowing river in the country. It is also the largest flowing river in the state of Madhya Prade ...

to create better access to trade and administration officials in

Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...

(now called Mumbai). The bridge is also called the Narmada Bridge.

Construction

The British started construction on the iron bridge on 7 December 1877. The bridge was contracted by the Bombay, Baroda, and Central India Railway and was designed by

Sir John Hawkshaw Sir John Hawkshaw Royal Society of London, FRS FRSE FRSA MICE (9 April 1811 – 2 June 1891), was an English civil engineer. He served as President of the Institution of Civil Engineers 1862-63. His most noteworthy work is the Severn Tunnel. ...

. The bridge was completed on 16 May 1881 at a cost of Rs 45.65

lakh A lakh (; abbreviated L; sometimes written lac) is a unit in the Indian numbering system equal to one hundred thousand (100,000; scientific notation: 105). In the Indian 2, 2, 3 convention of digit grouping, it is written as 1,00,000. F ...

s. Originally named the Narmada Bridge, it came to be known as the Golden Bridge on account of the heavy expenditure incurred during construction due to damage from heavy water flow. After independence, it became part of the national highway. However, the flow of heavy traffic was reduced after a new bridge on Narmada was built. The length of the Golden Bridge is .

Impact of 2023 Bharuch Flood

In September 2023, the Golden Bridge experienced significant challenges due to severe flooding in

. The flood was caused by continuous heavy rainfall and the release of water from the

Sardar Sarovar Dam The Sardar Sarovar Dam is a concrete gravity dam built on the Narmada River near the town of Kevadiya, in Narmada District, in the Indian state of Gujarat. The dam was constructed to provide water and electricity to the Indian states of Guj ...

on the

. The water level of the Narmada River near the Golden Bridge reached about 9 feet above the danger mark, leading to the evacuation of over 2,000 people and around 500 cattle to relief camps. The bridge was temporarily closed to traffic due to waterlogging and safety concerns. The State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) were deployed in the area for rescue operations.

Operation and Significance

For nearly a century, Golden Bridge was the only road crossing of the Narmada between

and

, carrying buses, trucks and pedestrian traffic bound for

and central India. Its narrow width, just two vehicle lanes became famous for nightly pilgrim processions during river side festivals, and its vantage point remains a popular sunset lookout. Structural inspections in the 1970s and 2000s affirmed its resilience: despite exposure to floods, monsoon currents and occasional tremors, the iron superstructure exhibited only minor corrosion and deformation thanks to regular maintenance by Western Railway and later state PWD teams.

References

External links

* {{Hydrography of Gujarat Bridges completed in 1881 Bharuch district Bridges over the Narmada River Bridges in Gujarat Transport in Ankleshwar Transport in Bharuch 1881 establishments in India

Construction

Impact of 2023 Bharuch Flood

Operation and Significance

See also

References

External links