The biggest obstacle to rehabilitation efforts in Uttarakhand today is restoring of road communications to the original status. The National Highway (NH) to Badrinath, having a 50-metre gap is currently being bridged, by launching a Bailey bridge, which is at best a half solution as it does not meet the two-lane NH requirement.
It will remain a bottleneck allowing only one way single lane traffic with restricted loads, on one of the busiest tourist destination routes in the country, till a permanent bridge is constructed. Finding an alternative site for design and construction of a permanent bridge in the mountains takes several years.
There is a need to upgrade to readily available more modern bridge systems and meeting NH requirements for emergencies, an area long neglected. It is time that we correct this situation by upgrading our emergency bridge capability while also promoting indigenous manufacture. It will prevent huge economic loss and save valuable time and human lives in emergencies.
The need for emergency bridges has come out clearly in every emergency situation and now again in Uttarakhand. Emergency bridges are not just a requirement for disasters. These are required both by the Army in military operations and the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) before permanent bridges are made, to have multiple attack points for deploying more resources and speed up construction of mountain roads.
The infrastructure industry needs these for carrying goods and materials in underdeveloped areas to construction sites for dams, tunnels and power projects as also to reach affected people, in an early timeframe. Bailey bridges have been in use as an emergency bridge in our country for very long and with increasing traffic these need upgradation.
Even as we declare the robust Bailey bridge obsolete, as a practicing infrastructural engineer one cannot fail to salute the versatility of this bridge. It is undoubtedly a clever engineering design. It has parts which are man-portable and ‘are designed to transfer loads very efficiently’. Quick design is possible using ready reference tables. Trusses and decking can be made stronger for larger spans or heavier loads, using the same components, assembled on site in different configurations, like in a Meccano set.
They can be launched without intermediate supports over a gap by using a range of innovative launch techniques, to allow for site conditions. Bridges can be launched to meet an emergency in the mountains, with back space as less as 7-8 metres, balancing the bridge with a dozer for counter-weight, to span say a 30 metre gap in 6-8 hours.
This bridge has helped win many wars. But today the Bailey bridge is not capable of matching the growth in axle loads and traffic. Improved versions use the same fundamentals of versatility, but are designed for heavier loads and are far more durable making them better suited for today’s requirements.
Emergency bridges are more expensive than conventional bridges. The Bailey bridge (BB single lane, load Cl 30), for example costs approximately Rs 3.7 lakhs per metre for a 50 metre span bridge. It is more expensive than a normal concrete bridge which is about Rs five lakh per metre for a two-way bridge built to NH loading specifications. The launching speed of the BB is one to two days, vis-à-vis 2-3 years for a permanent bridge construction, depending on site conditions.
How does the cost compare with the improved class of emergency bridgesIJ Modern bridges have the advantage of two-lane traffic and carry heavier loads that match the permanent bridges for NH requirements.
At approximately Rs8-9 lakhs per metre, including transportation overseas and construction, they give you much more value as compared to two Bailey bridges launched at one site. They can carry heavier and wider single loads, thus allowing carriage of large construction machinery or equipment and take less space than launching two Bailey bridges.
It has a four-fold advantage at less than twice the cost of a BB, and compares more favourably with a permanent bridge, with the huge advantage of a quick launch. Added is the fact that these bridges have a life of about 70 years because of superior surface finishes and the fact that they can be reused. It beats the old Bailey bridge hands down.
Conventional bridges are also no match in emergencies. This cost will come down further with appropriate excise concessions considering its use in emergencies and lack of alternatives in the country. With local manufacture, in the long run, it will be even more cost effective. A farsighted policy in introducing such bridges is the need of the hour.
Upgrading the Indian capability of emergency bridging cannot be ignored any further, especially when we have advanced well beyond Second World War standards in almost every other field. We need to quickly identify a modern bridge system for all agencies that is needed in emergencies or for military operations.
The options are fairly limited- the ACROW (US) and the MAYBEY (UK) are two of them. A bank of approximately 2 km of one of these or a mix, to start with can be created by import, as a first step, at an investment of approximately Rs 100 crore. These can be stored in warehouses across the country, managed by the Army, BRO or Disaster Management units. These would serve as a pool for all the users to draw from and return or replace once used.
This will allow for quicker and better response in emergencies. Over five years this pool could be built up to a reserve of 10 km. with indigenous manufacture capability. The continuing demand will generate this capability on its own. The cost will then come down substantially.
This will make the Bailey bridge more as an alternative in rural areas where the traffic is lower and bridges have again lagged behind road construction. All this including indigenous manufacturing is possible in five years.
The bridges even if imported can be available in two months time and erected in a few weeks after the abutments are ready. So if we follow emergent tendering processes, we can order a bridge in a month’s time meeting all the requirements of transparency and fair competition and have the bridge in place not later than three to four months.
If these were pre-stocked anywhere in the country, time would be less than a month between disaster striking and a bridge meeting NH requirements being in place. Compare this with having only a half solution with Bailey bridges for long periods throttling the traffic movement.
let Uttarakhand be the last disaster where we are caught napping for want of emergency bridges. In fact if we wake up today, we can use it even in this season in Uttarakhand, signaling a new dynamism in exploiting modern technology to fight disasters, save people and cut-down economic losses.
(The author is Chairman, International Road Federation and Co-Chair, FICCI’s Infrastructure Committee)