The Golden Bridge connects

Ankleshwar Ankleshwar (sometimes written Ankaleshwar) is a city and a municipality in Bharuch district in the state of Gujarat, India. The city is located 14 kilometres from Bharuch. Ankleshwar Industrial Association (AIA) is the largest organisation of ...

Bharuch Bharuch (), formerly known as Broach, is a city at the mouth of the river Narmada in Gujarat in western India. Bharuch is the administrative headquarters of Bharuch District. The city of Bharuch and surroundings have been settled since tim ...

in the

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

state of western

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. It was built in 1881 by the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

, who needed a bridge across the Narmada River to create better access to trade and administration officials in

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

(now called Mumbai). The bridge is also called the Narmada Bridge.

Construction

The British started construction on the iron bridge on 7 December 1877. The bridge was contracted by the

Bombay, Baroda, and Central India Railway The Bombay, Baroda and Central India Railway (reporting mark BB&CI) was a company incorporated in 1855 to undertake the task of constructing railway lines between Bombay to the erstwhile Baroda State, that became the present-day Baroda (Vadodar ...

and was designed by

Sir John Hawkshaw Sir John Hawkshaw FRS FRSE FRSA MICE (9 April 1811 – 2 June 1891), was an English civil engineer. He served as President of the Institution of Civil Engineers 1862-63. His most noteworthy work is the Severn Tunnel. Early life He was bor ...

. The bridge was completed on 16 May 1881 at a cost of Rs 45.65

lakh A lakh (; abbreviated L; sometimes written lac) is a unit in the Indian numbering system equal to one hundred thousand (100,000; scientific notation: 105). In the Indian 2,2,3 convention of digit grouping, it is written as 1,00,000. For ex ...

s. Originally named the Narmada Bridge, it came to be known as the Golden Bridge on account of the heavy expenditure incurred during construction due to damage from heavy water flow. After independence, it became part of the national highway. However, the flow of heavy traffic was reduced after a new bridge on Narmada was built. The length of the Golden Bridge is .

Impact of 2023 Bharuch Flood

In September 2023, the Golden Bridge experienced significant challenges due to severe flooding in

. The flood was caused by continuous heavy rainfall and the release of water from the

Sardar Sarovar Dam The Sardar Sarovar Dam is a concrete gravity dam built on the Narmada River in Navagam near the town of Kevadiya, Narmada District, in the state of Gujarat, India. The dam was constructed to provide water and electricity to four Indian states ...

on the Narmada River. The water level of the Narmada River near the Golden Bridge reached about 9 feet above the danger mark, leading to the evacuation of over 2,000 people and around 500 cattle to relief camps. The bridge was temporarily closed to traffic due to waterlogging and safety concerns. The State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) were deployed in the area for rescue operations.

References

External links

* Bridges completed in 1881 Bharuch district Bridges over the Narmada River Bridges in Gujarat Transport in Ankleshwar Transport in Bharuch 1881 establishments in India {{India-bridge-struct-stub

Construction

Impact of 2023 Bharuch Flood

See also

References

External links