Curzon Bridge, Allahabad

Curzon Bridge, Allahabad

The Curzon Bridge over the river Ganges and the Allahabad-Fyzabad Railway opened in 1905, operated by the Oudh and Rohilkhand Railway, and providing a direct link from Allahbad to Lucknow and the hill stations beyond .

Construction was sanctioned in December 1901 for construction as a State Railway and consists of fifteen spans of 200 feet(61m) with well foundations. The bridge carries a single broad gauge(BG) line between the girders and a roadway on top . The Engineer-in-Charge was Robert Richard Gales.

The construction required special civil engineering techniques developed by James Richard Bell of the Public Works Department and the construction technique is described in the Scientific American “The narrowing of the Ganges and construction of the Curzon Bridge" article Sept.1908 .

The British Library IOR Photograph shelfmark 430/58 carries the following description:-

'The Curzon Bridge over the River Ganges at Allahabad. 15 spans of 200 feet. Started 8th November 1902. Opened for Railway Traffic 15th June 1905. Opened for Road Traffic 20th December 1905'. Above this in the top corner is the note: 'With R.R. Gale's compliments'. Print 1 is a portrait of Gale, the Engineer-in-Chief, and his assistants and the remaining photographs provide a chronological record of the bridge's construction from December 1902 to December 1905. A full account of the bridge's construction is given by Gale in his paper 'The Curzon Bridge at Allahabad', Paper No 3626 in the proceedings of The Institution of Civil Engineers, (Volume CLXXIV) Session 1907-1908, Part IV.

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At some point in time (not determined ) the use of the bridge for rail and road traffic, was abandoned leaving it only open to two wheelers and pedestrians.