Attock Bridge
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Attock Bridge ( ur, ) is situated between
Attock Khurd Attock Khurd ( ur, ; ''"''Little Attock''"'') is a small town located beside the Indus River in the Attock District of Punjab Province in Pakistan. Khurd and Kalan are Persian words, themselves derived from Sanskrit (''Kshudra'' means "small ...
and Khairabad Kund on
Indus river The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans-Himalayan river of South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in Western Tibet, flows northwest through the disputed region of Kashmir, ...
in
Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
. It is commonly known as "Old Attock Bridge". This bridge is one of the most important strategic and commercial crossing on the
Indus River The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans-Himalayan river of South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in Western Tibet, flows northwest through the disputed region of Kashmir, ...
between
Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...
and
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ps, خېبر پښتونخوا; Urdu, Hindko: خیبر پختونخوا) commonly abbreviated as KP or KPK, is one of the Administrative units of Pakistan, four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, ...
provinces, hence was heavily
fortified A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
. It was originally designed by Sir Guildford Molesworth and was opened to traffic on 24 May 1883. The cost of construction was more than Rs 3.2 million. The structure was redesigned by Sir Francis Callaghan and was reconstructed in 1929, at the cost of Rs 2.5 million. The bridge spanning over has 2 levels and 5 spans, of which 3 spans are long and 2 spans are long. The upper level is use for railway traffic and lower level was used for road traffic. The approaches to the bridge were built as solid fortifications - as a defense against raids from nearby
Pashtun Pashtuns (, , ; ps, پښتانه, ), also known as Pakhtuns or Pathans, are an Iranian ethnic group who are native to the geographic region of Pashtunistan in the present-day countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan. They were historically re ...
tribesmen. This bridge was a part of famous
Grand Trunk Road The Grand Trunk Road (formerly known as Uttarapath, Sarak-e-Azam, Shah Rah-e-Azam, Badshahi Sarak, and Long Walk) is one of Asia's oldest and longest major roads. For at least 2,500 years it has linked Central Asia to the Indian subcontinent. ...
. In 1979 a new bridge was constructed and road traffic was shifted to there. This new bridge is known as "New Attock Bridge".http://www.irfca.org
/ref> Attock Bridge is still in use for railway traffic, with restricted vehicular traffic. Only small vehicles are allowed in Attock Bridge


References

Bridges over the Indus River Attock District Railway bridges in Pakistan Bridges in Pakistan {{pakistan-bridge-struct-stub