Pamban Bridge (Road bridge and Railway bridge) - Rameswaram

The Pamban Bridge (Road bridge and Railway bridge) stands as a massive structure over the Indian Ocean, parallel to each other between the shores of Mandapam and Pamban, the starting point of Rameswaram island. However, the name ‘Pamban bridge’ refers to both of them, it is actually the name of the Pamban Railway Bridge. It is an engineering marvel that evokes awe. Standing with 143 piers, spanning 2 km between the mainland and the island, it is one of the longest sea bridges in India. The idea of construction of a bridge between these places was planned as early as the 1870s by the British. They wanted to have a trade link with India and Sri Lanka. The construction began in 1911. In the year 1964, the bridge survived a major cyclone that flattened Dhanushkodi, a port town at the tip of Rameswaram island. The stone and concrete metals used for the bridge were brought by rail from a quarry which was situated 250 km away from Pamban.

It was mentioned that nearly 4000 tons of cement, 136000 cubic feet of clay, 18000 cubic feet of crushed metal, 163000 cubic feet of sand and 80000 cubic feet of boulders were used for the construction of this rail bridge. The bridge is also called a cantilever Scherzer rolling lift bridge, named after the German engineer ‘Scherzer’, who built the viaduct. The Scherzer roll and lift pan is a manual operation, work by principle of spurs and gears to gain enormous mechanical advantage. For the passage of the vessels in the sea, the bridge is lifted. The Port officer has to inform the bridge operator the time taken of crossing of the steamer. The bridge operator informs the station master & the controller before he lifts the bridge. The entire operation lasts for nearly 40 minutes. Now, the Indian Government has already begun the construction of the similar bridge with advance facilities easing the operation.