Second Vivekananda Bridge is a technological wonder !

Location : Located 50 metres downstream from the Bally (Vivekananda) bridge, the Second Vivekananda Bridge is a technological wonder.

Challenge : The main task for designers and engineers was to construct the new bridge in such a way that the view of the Bally bridge as seen from the river was not marred and that Dakshineswar temple was not dwarfed. At the same time, the new bridge had to be wide enough to take the projected traffic load for the next 50 years.

Unique features : The Second Vivekananda Bridge is the first of its kind in the country as there is only one plane of cables holding up the 880 metre bridge along the central median.

The Second Vivekananda Bridge is the first of its kind in the country - a single profile cable-stayed bridge with the most modern design.

The height of the column is lower than the tip of the Dakshineswar temple so that the structure does not dwarf the temple.

The Construction :The construction of the 880-metre long main bridge across the river Hooghly, just 50 metres downstream from the existing Bally Bridge is the most critical activity of the project. The foundation of the bridge has been laid on 11 metre diameter x 39 metre (average) deep-well foundations with well caps located at the river bed level 15 metres below the water level of the river at high tide.
The bridge is designed to carry six-lane traffic on both carriageways. The superstructure of the main bridge consists of 254 numbers of 29-mtetre-wide single-box PSC girders weighing between 140 tonnes and 170 tonnes with inclined web and internal stiffening struts. A single plane of cables passing through 14 metre high pylons provides the additional post-tensioning, and enhances the aesthetics of the bridge by elegant proportioning of the size of the segment.
Unique designs : The four bridges in and around Kolkata are unique in their designs. Experts say that when the bridges were constructed each one was the first of its kind in India in its category.

* The Howrah bridge (Rabindra Setu): Completed in 1943, the cantilever bridge remains the biggest floating structure in the country till date.

* The Bally bridge (Vivekananda Setu): Completed in 1931, the unique design boasted a rail-cum-road through-type bridge with the road portion on the cantilever.

* The Second Hooghly Bridge (Vidyasagar Setu): Inaugurated in 1992, it is a cable-stayed bridge.

* The Second Vivekananda bridge: To be opened in 2007, it is a single profile cable-stayed bridge.

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