MONROVIA – On June 6, 2025, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Chenab Railway Bridge, now officially the world’s highest railway arch bridge. Soaring 359 meters above the Chenab River, the steel arch connects the Kashmir Valley to the rest of India.
More than an engineering marvel, the Chenab Bridge tells a story of resilience, national purpose, and innovation under pressure – a story that resonates far beyond India’s borders, including in nations like Liberia, where the pursuit of infrastructure-driven development is ongoing.
Spanning 1,315 meters, the Chenab Bridge is built to endure high seismic activity and extreme wind conditions. Its construction demanded technical ingenuity, given the fractured rock formations and unpredictable Himalayan terrain. The bridge is not just robust – it is breathtaking, standing taller than the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
Once fully operational, the bridge will reduce travel time between Jammu and Srinagar by up two to three hours.
The Chenab Bridge is part of the larger project, the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL). Stretching 272 km through tunnels, ridges, and rivers, this ₹43,780 crore (roughly US$5.3 billion) megaproject includes 36 tunnels (totaling 119 km) and 943 bridges, all designed to provide year-round, all-weather access to the Kashmir Valley.
For engineers like T. G. Sitharam, Chairman of India’s All-India Council for Technical Education and a longtime geotechnical consultant on the project, the bridge represents “a 15-year journey of science, sweat, and soul.”
He explains that standard methods weren’t enough. “It wasn’t about applying textbook theories alone,” he said. “It was about adapting to nature’s will—working with it, not against it.”
Another key contributor was Dr. G. Madhavi Latha, a professor at the Indian Institute of Science, whose expertise in slope stabilization and foundation design proved vital. Though many hailed her as the hero behind the bridge, she humbly redirected the praise. “I am one of the thousands who deserve appreciation,” she wrote in a viral LinkedIn post. “The real glory belongs to Indian Railways and AFCONS, and the countless workers who made this possible.”
Alongside the Chenab Bridge, PM Modi also inaugurated the Anji Bridge, India’s first cable-stayed railway bridge, built in some of the most unforgiving terrain in the region. Like Chenab, it stands as a statement of India’s determination to connect its most remote areas.
As Prime Minister Modi stood on the bridge holding the Indian flag, he called it “a triumph of national will.” The Chenab Bridge, he said, “has not just united land, but hearts.”
Indeed, the project has united engineers, laborers, planners, and citizens across India in a shared purpose—demonstrating what’s possible when a nation chooses connection over division.
For countries like Liberia, this towering bridge serves as a metaphor: that no challenge – geographic, political, or economic – is insurmountable with unity, ingenuity, and perseverance.
