By Prof Shankar Chatterjee, Hyderabad:
The Chenab Bridge in Jammu and Kashmir is the highest in the world and was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on June 6, 2025. The project is part of the 272 kilometres Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Railway Link (USBRL), which was approved in 2003. One of the major contributors to the construction of the engineering marvel is Dr G Madhavi Latha, professor at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bengaluru. She was involved in the Chenab Bridge project for 17 years as a geotechnical consultant. Her expertise in rock engineering proved indispensable over the course of 17 years of dedicated involvement.
She worked closely with Afcons, the contractor of the bridge, in the planning, design, and construction of the structure, focusing on the obstacles posed by the terrain. Prof. Latha completed her B. Tech in Civil Engineering in 1992 from the Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, where she achieved first class with distinction. She bagged a gold medal as an M.Tech student at the National Institute of Technology, Warangal. Her specialisation was in Geotechnical Engineering. Dr Latha completed her doctorate from IIT-Madras in 2000 in Geotechnical Engineering.
Over the years, she received several awards. In 2021, she was given the Best Woman Geotechnical Researcher award by the Indian Geotechnical Society. She was also named in the Top 75 Women in STEAM of India in 2022. I would like to mention that STEAM education is an approach to teaching STEM subjects that incorporates artistic skills, such as creative thinking and design. The name derives from the acronym STEM, with an “A” added to stand for the arts. STEAM programmes aim to teach students innovation, critical thinking, and the application of engineering or technology in imaginative designs or creative approaches to real-world problems, while building on students’ mathematical and scientific foundations. The challenging topography, weather conditions, and remote location of the Chenab Bridge made construction a difficult endeavour in the region.
Prof. Latha’s team adopted a “design-as-you-go approach” to overcome all obstacles. This meant innovating in real-time based on geological conditions such as fractured rocks, hidden cavities, and varying rock properties, which were not apparent in early surveys. The team performed complex calculations and design modifications to accommodate the actual rock mass conditions encountered during construction. Her contributions included advice on the design and placement of rock anchors to improve stability.
She recently published a paper in the Indian Geotechnical Journal’s women’s special issue titled “Design as You Go: The Case Study of Chenab Railway Bridge.” The paper describes how the design of the bridge has evolved continuously, with the overall structure, location, and type being the only constants to suit the geological conditions of the site. The project was constructed for Rs 1,486 crore. The Chenab Bridge has been described as the “biggest civil-engineering challenge faced by any railway project in India in recent history” by the Government. The 359-metre bridge is taller than the Eiffel Tower by 35 metres. The project aims to enhance connectivity in the Kashmir Valley. With the development of this project, Jammu and Kashmir’s economic growth is expected to accelerate at a high rate.
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