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Vidyasagar Setu
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Vidyasagar Setu
Vidyasagar Setu, also known as the Second Hooghly Bridge, is an 822.96-metre-long (2,700 ft) cable-stayed six-laned toll bridge over the Hooghly River in West Bengal, India, linking the cities of Kolkata and Howrah. Opened in 1992, Vidyasagar Setu was the first and longest cable-stayed bridge in India at the time of its inauguration. It was the second bridge to be built across the Hooghly River in Kolkata metropolitan region and was named after the education reformer Pandit Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar. The project had a cost of ₹388 crore to build. The project was a joint effort between the public and private sectors, under the control of the Hooghly River Bridge Commissioners (HRBC).
The importance of the bridge has increased manifold since 2013, as the West Bengal State Secretariat had shifted its office to Nabanna, located adjacent to the bridge on the Howrah side.[citation needed]
Initially, under the toll collection regime of the HRBC, daily traffic was recorded to be a minimum of 28,000 vehicles and a maximum of 39,000 vehicles in 2000, but fell to a maximum of around 30,000 vehicles by December 2002, when the management of the toll plaza was handed over to a private firm. Subsequently, the daily traffic reached a minimum of 45,000 vehicles and a maximum of 61,000 vehicles by early 2008, against a maximum capacity of 85,000 vehicles per day. The original management of the toll revenue collection by HRBC was consequently criticized for corruption and significant loss of revenue.
Population and commercial activity grew rapidly after India gained independence in August 1947. The only link across the Hooghly River, the Howrah Bridge between Howrah and Kolkata, was subject to much traffic congestion, with over 85,000 vehicles every day. This necessitated planning for a new bridge across the river so that it could connect to the major cities of Mumbai (Bombay), Delhi and Chennai (Madras) through the national highways located close to the bridge.
The foundation stone for the bridge was laid by Indian National Congress (INC) in 1972. At that time, Honourable P.M. of India was Smt. Indira Gandhi & Honourable C.M. of West Bengal was Shri Siddhartha Shankar Ray. The bridge took 20 years to complete and cost ₹3.88 billion (equivalent to ₹30 billion or US$350 million in 2023), but during seven of those years there was no construction activity. The bridge is named after the 19th-century Bengali education reformer Pandit Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar. Work on the cable-stayed bridge started with the construction of the well curb on the Kolkata bank on 3 July 1979.
There are three other bridges on the Hooghly River connecting Kolkata with Howrah district: Vivekananda Setu built in 1930, (road-cum-rail bridge) – the first to be commissioned, and which had become old and needed repairs; Howrah Bridge, a cantilever bridge commissioned in 1943, now renamed as Rabindra Setu (since 1965 in honour of the Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore); and Nivedita Setu (named after Sister Nivedita), also known as the Second Vivekananda Setu, which is 50 metres (160 ft) downstream from the old Vivekananda Setu and was commissioned on 4 June 2007. Kona Expressway and Vidyasagar Setu experienced an exponential rise in the volume of traffic over a couple of years. Over 100,000 vehicles take the expressway to reach Kolkata via Vidyasagar Setu.
The bridge was designed by Schlaich Bergermann & Partner, and checked by Freeman Fox & Partners and Bharat Bhari Udyog Nigam Limited. Construction was carried out by the consortium of "The Braithwaite Burn and Jessop Construction Company Limited" (BBJ). The Hooghly River Bridge Commission (HRBC) was responsible for the commissioning operations of the bridge. Construction began on 3 July 1979, and the bridge was commissioned on 10 October 1992 by the Hooghly River Bridge Commission.
Vidyasagar Setu is a cable-stayed bridge, with 121 cables in a fan arrangement, built using steel pylons 127.62 metres (418.7 ft) high. With a total length of 823 metres (2,700 ft), Vidyasagar Setu is the longest cable-stayed bridge in India (the longer 3rd Narmada Bridge in Gujarat is an extradosed bridge). The deck is made of composite steel-reinforced concrete with two carriageways. The total width of the bridge is 35 metres (115 ft), with 3 lanes in each direction and a 1.2-metre (3 ft 11 in)-wide footpath on each side. The deck over the main span is 457.20 metres (1,500.0 ft) long. The two side spans are supported by parallel wire cables and are 182.88 metres (600.0 ft) long. Vidyasagar Setu is a toll bridge. It has capacity to handle more than 85,000 vehicles in a day.
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Vidyasagar Setu
Vidyasagar Setu, also known as the Second Hooghly Bridge, is an 822.96-metre-long (2,700 ft) cable-stayed six-laned toll bridge over the Hooghly River in West Bengal, India, linking the cities of Kolkata and Howrah. Opened in 1992, Vidyasagar Setu was the first and longest cable-stayed bridge in India at the time of its inauguration. It was the second bridge to be built across the Hooghly River in Kolkata metropolitan region and was named after the education reformer Pandit Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar. The project had a cost of ₹388 crore to build. The project was a joint effort between the public and private sectors, under the control of the Hooghly River Bridge Commissioners (HRBC).
The importance of the bridge has increased manifold since 2013, as the West Bengal State Secretariat had shifted its office to Nabanna, located adjacent to the bridge on the Howrah side.[citation needed]
Initially, under the toll collection regime of the HRBC, daily traffic was recorded to be a minimum of 28,000 vehicles and a maximum of 39,000 vehicles in 2000, but fell to a maximum of around 30,000 vehicles by December 2002, when the management of the toll plaza was handed over to a private firm. Subsequently, the daily traffic reached a minimum of 45,000 vehicles and a maximum of 61,000 vehicles by early 2008, against a maximum capacity of 85,000 vehicles per day. The original management of the toll revenue collection by HRBC was consequently criticized for corruption and significant loss of revenue.
Population and commercial activity grew rapidly after India gained independence in August 1947. The only link across the Hooghly River, the Howrah Bridge between Howrah and Kolkata, was subject to much traffic congestion, with over 85,000 vehicles every day. This necessitated planning for a new bridge across the river so that it could connect to the major cities of Mumbai (Bombay), Delhi and Chennai (Madras) through the national highways located close to the bridge.
The foundation stone for the bridge was laid by Indian National Congress (INC) in 1972. At that time, Honourable P.M. of India was Smt. Indira Gandhi & Honourable C.M. of West Bengal was Shri Siddhartha Shankar Ray. The bridge took 20 years to complete and cost ₹3.88 billion (equivalent to ₹30 billion or US$350 million in 2023), but during seven of those years there was no construction activity. The bridge is named after the 19th-century Bengali education reformer Pandit Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar. Work on the cable-stayed bridge started with the construction of the well curb on the Kolkata bank on 3 July 1979.
There are three other bridges on the Hooghly River connecting Kolkata with Howrah district: Vivekananda Setu built in 1930, (road-cum-rail bridge) – the first to be commissioned, and which had become old and needed repairs; Howrah Bridge, a cantilever bridge commissioned in 1943, now renamed as Rabindra Setu (since 1965 in honour of the Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore); and Nivedita Setu (named after Sister Nivedita), also known as the Second Vivekananda Setu, which is 50 metres (160 ft) downstream from the old Vivekananda Setu and was commissioned on 4 June 2007. Kona Expressway and Vidyasagar Setu experienced an exponential rise in the volume of traffic over a couple of years. Over 100,000 vehicles take the expressway to reach Kolkata via Vidyasagar Setu.
The bridge was designed by Schlaich Bergermann & Partner, and checked by Freeman Fox & Partners and Bharat Bhari Udyog Nigam Limited. Construction was carried out by the consortium of "The Braithwaite Burn and Jessop Construction Company Limited" (BBJ). The Hooghly River Bridge Commission (HRBC) was responsible for the commissioning operations of the bridge. Construction began on 3 July 1979, and the bridge was commissioned on 10 October 1992 by the Hooghly River Bridge Commission.
Vidyasagar Setu is a cable-stayed bridge, with 121 cables in a fan arrangement, built using steel pylons 127.62 metres (418.7 ft) high. With a total length of 823 metres (2,700 ft), Vidyasagar Setu is the longest cable-stayed bridge in India (the longer 3rd Narmada Bridge in Gujarat is an extradosed bridge). The deck is made of composite steel-reinforced concrete with two carriageways. The total width of the bridge is 35 metres (115 ft), with 3 lanes in each direction and a 1.2-metre (3 ft 11 in)-wide footpath on each side. The deck over the main span is 457.20 metres (1,500.0 ft) long. The two side spans are supported by parallel wire cables and are 182.88 metres (600.0 ft) long. Vidyasagar Setu is a toll bridge. It has capacity to handle more than 85,000 vehicles in a day.
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