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Construction details & Engineer 'Robert Richard Gales' added with reference
The '''Hardinge Bridge''', before inaugeration known as the '''Sara Ghat Bridge''' is a steel railway bridge at Sara over the river Ganges(+Padma) located in East Bengal (now western Bangladesh). It is named after Lord Hardinge, who was the Viceroy of India from 1910 to 1916. The bridge is 1.8 kilometres (1.1 mi) long and was constructed to carry the broad gauge([[Rail_gauge#Broad_Gauge|BG]]) [[East Bengal Railway]](EBR).
<ref>Wikipedia [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hardinge_Bridge "Hardinge Bridge"] Retrieved on 8 Dec 2015</ref>
The construction of a railway bridge over the Ganges(+Padma) was proposed in 1889 by the Eastern Bengal Railway for easier communication between Calcutta and Eastern Bengal and Assam. In 1902, [[Francis Joseph Edward Spring]] prepared a report on the bridge. A technical committee reported that a bridge could be constructed at [[Sara]] crossing the lower Ganges between the Paksey and Bheramara Upazila stations on the BG railway from [[Khulna]] to [[Parbatipur Upazila]]. <ref>Minutes of the Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers[http://www.icevirtuallibrary.com/doi/abs/10.1680/imotp.1918.15830 Volume 205, Issue 1918; pages 18-67. "The Hardinge Bridge over the Lower Ganges at Sara". Published Online: June 05, 2015] Retrieved on 8 Dec 2015 </ref>
The Consulting Engineer in London was Sir [[Alexander Meadows Rendel]] and [[Frederick Ewart Robertson]] was an active partner in that firm and was resposible for the designs for the steelwork of perhaps the most difficult bridge yet undertaken, at Sara over the Lower Ganges. The construction of the bridge started in 1910 and completed c.1912. The line, which opened to traffic in 1915, became the [[Hardinge Bridge]] <ref>[http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Frederick_Ewart_Robertson Grace's Guide "Frederick Ewart Robertson"]; Retrieved 8 Jun 2016</ref>.
The construction of the Sara Ghat Bridge started in 1910 and opened to traffic in 1915, and became the Hardinge Bridge. [[Robert Richard Gales]] from the [[Public Works Department]] was Engineer-in-Chief and the construction was a major engineering challenge as fully described in the 'The Engineer' of October 1914 <ref>[http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/images/d/d9/Er19141002.pdf The Engineer October 1914, pages 316-318- "Bridge over the Lower Ganges" reproduced by Grace's Guide]; Retrieved 16 Jul 2016</ref>. <blockquote> + The river between the west side of Bangladesh and its confluence with the Jamuna was previously called the Ganges, and is now referred to as the Padma.</blockquote>
==Records==
