World’s highest chenab bridge: Bengaluru-based geotechnical expert’s 17-year journey shaped India’s engineering marvel in Jammu and Kashmir
As Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the world’s highest railway bridge over the Chenab River in Jammu and Kashmir, attention turned to the remarkable engineering behind the project. Dr. G Madhavi Latha, a professor at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), has played a critical yet understated role in this achievement. For 17 years, she worked as a geotechnical consultant on the Chenab Bridge — part of the ambitious 272 km Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Railway Link (USBRL). The bridge, costing Rs 1,486 crore and standing 35 metres taller than the Eiffel Tower, was called the “biggest civil-engineering challenge faced by any railway project in India in recent history.” , reported timesofindia.indiatimes.com.
-
Dr. Madhavi Latha collaborated closely with Afcons, the main contractor, advising on slope stabilisation using rock anchors and ensuring structural safety amid complex Himalayan geology
-
She documented the technical challenges in a paper for the Indian Geotechnical Journal
-
A distinguished academic, Latha holds a B.Tech from JNTU, an M.Tech with a gold medal from NIT Warangal, and a PhD from IIT Madras
-
Recognised as the Best Woman Geotechnical Researcher by the Indian Geotechnical Society in 2021 and listed among India’s Top 75 Women in STEAM in 2022, her work on the Chenab Bridge stands as a testament to her expertise and dedication.
The construction of the Chenab Bridge began in rugged terrain where, before any roads existed, engineers and workers relied on mules and horses to navigate the Himalayas. Afcons Infrastructure revealed that temporary tracks and later permanent access roads—11 km on the north bank and 12 km on the south—were constructed to enable machinery and materials to reach the site.
When PM Modi walked across the 359-metre-high bridge, waving the national flag, it marked not only a ceremony but the culmination of a decades-long dream to connect Kashmir by rail to the rest of India. The Chenab Bridge now stands as a towering symbol of engineering prowess and national unity.