Pamban Bridge

Pamban Bridge is a railway bridge which connects the town of Rameswaram on Pamban Island to mainland India. Opened on 24 February 1914, it was India's first sea bridge, and was the longest sea bridge in India until the opening of the Bandra-Worli Sea Link in 2010. The rail bridge is, for the most part, a conventional bridge resting on concrete piers, but has a double-leaf bascule section midway, which can be raised to let ships and barges pass through. Till 1988, the Pamban bridge was the only surface transport that connected Tamil Nadu's island of Rameswaram to the mainland.In 1988, a road bridge was also constructed parallel to the rail bridge. This road bridge is also known as Annai Indira Gandhi Road Bridge. The Pamban Road Bridge connects the National Highway (NH 49) with the Rameswaram island. It stands on the palk strait and between the shores of Mandapam (Place on the Indian Main land) and Pamban (One of the fishermen town in Rameswaram island). It was inaugurated by former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi On the date of October 2, 1988. This 2.345 km long Bridge took close to 14 years to be completed.LocationThe bridge spans a 2 km strait between the Indian mainland and Pamban island. The mainland end of the bridge is located at. The bridge is located in the world's second most corrosive environment after Florida, making its maintenance a challenging job. The location is also a cyclone-prone high wind velocity zone.DesignThe railway bridge is located above sea level and is 6776ft long. The bridge consists of 143 piers and has a double-leaf bascule section with a Scherzer rolling type lift span that can be raised to let ships pass. Each half of the lifting span weighs. The two leaves of the bridge are opened manually using levers. the India's most dangerous bridge