Kotri Bridge: Difference between revisions
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The Bridge was opened to traffic on 25th May 1900 and was reconstructed in 1931. It has single railway track on it and presented a main obstacle for smooth rail traffic as on both ends there was double track | The Bridge was opened to traffic on 25th May 1900 and was reconstructed in 1931. It has single railway track on it and presented a main obstacle for smooth rail traffic as on both ends there was double track | ||
<ref>[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kotri_Bridge Wikipedia “Kotri Bridge” ]; Retrieved on 29 Apr 2016</ref>. | <ref>[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kotri_Bridge Wikipedia “Kotri Bridge” ]; Retrieved on 29 Apr 2016</ref>. | ||
The bridge has six spans (1 span 100 feet/30.5 M clear and 5 spans 350 feet/106.7 M clear). The total length of the bridge is 1,948 feet/594 M. It including protection works was Rs. 2,300,025. The depth of the foundation below low water is 49 to 60 feet/15-18 M. The roadway and footpaths on the Kotri Bridge are exactly similar to those on the [[Lansdowne Bridge]] <ref name = ProvSind/> | |||
==Background== | ==Background== | ||
The ‘Gazetteer of Sind Province, 1907’ <ref> British Library Shelfmark: UIN: BLL01003394627 “Gazetteer Province of Sind” by E H Aitken, Bombay Salt Department, 1907, page 345</ref> gave the following:- | The ‘Gazetteer of Sind Province, 1907’ <ref name = ProvSind> British Library Shelfmark: UIN: BLL01003394627 “Gazetteer Province of Sind” by E H Aitken, Bombay Salt Department, 1907, page 345</ref> gave the following:- | ||
<blockquote>”The ‘[[Scinde, Punjaub & Delhi Railway]]’ ceased when it was taken over by the State on 1 Jan I886, and amalgamated with the Punjab Northern, the Indus Valley, the Sind Pishin Railways in one imperial system under the name of the ‘[[North Western Railway]]’. The line from Sukkur to Kotri was frequently breached, which caused vexatious interruptions of communication with Karachi and the North West Frontier and dislocated the export trade. On these grounds it was decided to have alternative line on the left bank of the troublesome river. In 1892 single track line from Hyderabad eastward as far as Shadipali and now a line was started from Rahoki Station on this line, 6¼ miles east of Hyderabad, and carried to Rohri, distance of 178.54 miles. This was opened for coaching traffic on 15th December 1896 and since the completion of the Kotri Bridge it has become the main route to the Punjab, reducing the distance by about 38 miles. That bridge was completed and opened for traffic on 25 May, 1900” <blockquote | <blockquote>”The ‘[[Scinde, Punjaub & Delhi Railway]]’ ceased when it was taken over by the State on 1 Jan I886, and amalgamated with the Punjab Northern, the Indus Valley, the Sind Pishin Railways in one imperial system under the name of the ‘[[North Western Railway]]’. The line from Sukkur to Kotri was frequently breached, which caused vexatious interruptions of communication with Karachi and the North West Frontier and dislocated the export trade. On these grounds it was decided to have alternative line on the left bank of the troublesome river. In 1892 single track line from Hyderabad eastward as far as Shadipali and now a line was started from Rahoki Station on this line, 6¼ miles east of Hyderabad, and carried to Rohri, distance of 178.54 miles. This was opened for coaching traffic on 15th December 1896 and since the completion of the Kotri Bridge it has become the main route to the Punjab, reducing the distance by about 38 miles. That bridge was completed and opened for traffic on 25 May, 1900” </blockquote> | ||
==Records== | ==Records== | ||
Latest revision as of 16:43, 25 March 2020
The Kotri Bridge is situated between Kotri and Hyderabad on Indus river in Sindh (now in Pakistan). The Indus Bridge Works of the Kotri-Rohri Railway commenced in 1893 with Ernest Ifill Shadbolt as Engineer-in-chief.
The Bridge was opened to traffic on 25th May 1900 and was reconstructed in 1931. It has single railway track on it and presented a main obstacle for smooth rail traffic as on both ends there was double track [1].
The bridge has six spans (1 span 100 feet/30.5 M clear and 5 spans 350 feet/106.7 M clear). The total length of the bridge is 1,948 feet/594 M. It including protection works was Rs. 2,300,025. The depth of the foundation below low water is 49 to 60 feet/15-18 M. The roadway and footpaths on the Kotri Bridge are exactly similar to those on the Lansdowne Bridge [2]
Background
The ‘Gazetteer of Sind Province, 1907’ [2] gave the following:-
”The ‘Scinde, Punjaub & Delhi Railway’ ceased when it was taken over by the State on 1 Jan I886, and amalgamated with the Punjab Northern, the Indus Valley, the Sind Pishin Railways in one imperial system under the name of the ‘North Western Railway’. The line from Sukkur to Kotri was frequently breached, which caused vexatious interruptions of communication with Karachi and the North West Frontier and dislocated the export trade. On these grounds it was decided to have alternative line on the left bank of the troublesome river. In 1892 single track line from Hyderabad eastward as far as Shadipali and now a line was started from Rahoki Station on this line, 6¼ miles east of Hyderabad, and carried to Rohri, distance of 178.54 miles. This was opened for coaching traffic on 15th December 1896 and since the completion of the Kotri Bridge it has become the main route to the Punjab, reducing the distance by about 38 miles. That bridge was completed and opened for traffic on 25 May, 1900”
Records
The India Office Records (IOR) records held at the British Library give the following in the photographic collection:-
- Photographs Album details for shelfmark Photo 285/ “Shadbolt Collection: Construction of the Indus Bridge at Kotri”[3].
References
- ↑ Wikipedia “Kotri Bridge” ; Retrieved on 29 Apr 2016
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 British Library Shelfmark: UIN: BLL01003394627 “Gazetteer Province of Sind” by E H Aitken, Bombay Salt Department, 1907, page 345
- ↑ "Shadbolt Collection: Construction of the Indus Bridge at Kotri.”; Retrieved on 29 Apr 2016