Mumbai–Pune: Where Shivaji once triumphed, engineers now build India’s tallest cable-stayed bridge

Engineers are constructing the country’s tallest cable-stayed road bridge in Lonavala’s Tiger Valley, reaching 132 metres above ground. The project forms part of the Mumbai-Pune Expressway Missing Link and promises to reduce travel distance and time while offering a safer, more modern route through the challenging Sahyadri terrain.

The construction uses advanced methods like self-climbing shuttering systems for the 182-metre-high pylons and cantilever form travellers for deck segments. Four tower cranes at extreme heights operate together, ensuring both speed and precision. These methods allow engineers to overcome gravity and Sahyadri winds effectively.

The Sahyadri mountains, once a battlefield, now test modern engineering skills. Engineers confront wind, rain, fog, and height with planning, precision, and advanced technology. Like Shivaji Maharaj’s strategy in history, today’s bridge construction showcases human ingenuity conquering natural challenges for progress and connectivity.

Despite dangerous conditions, engineers and workers maintain world-class safety and quality standards. Every deck segment is built with precision to ensure structural stability over deep valleys. Their dedication demonstrates the importance of teamwork, discipline, and modern technology in overcoming extreme engineering challenges.

The bridge site is near the historic battlefield where Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj defeated a large Mughal army in 1661. Engineers draw motivation from this history, facing natural challenges with courage and strategy, just as warriors once used the Sahyadri terrain to their advantage centuries ago.

The project has two packages. Package I includes tunnels measuring 1.75 km and 8.92 km. Package II covers two viaducts (850 m and 650 m), widening 5.86 km of the Expressway, and constructing over 10 km of approach and slip roads. The 650-metre viaduct will have India’s tallest pylons.

Labourers work on narrow ledges above deep valleys, performing complex tasks like welding and lifting segments. Despite world-class safety measures, some workers have left due to fear. The work requires extraordinary patience, courage, and precision under extreme climatic and geographical conditions.

The team faces dense fog, heavy rain, and sudden wind speeds up to 100 kmph. These unpredictable conditions make working at high altitudes dangerous, demanding precision and focus. Engineers often have visibility of just a few metres while handling steel cables and concrete at dizzying heights.

The project has been delayed by two years due to the region’s difficult terrain, extreme weather, and COVID-related disruptions. Local villagers and officials acknowledge that challenges like narrow ridges, heavy rainfall, and high-altitude winds make steady progress difficult.

Once completed, the bridge will bypass the Khandala Ghat section, reducing the Expressway by over six kilometres and cutting travel time by 25 minutes. This shorter route will also help reduce pollution in the ghats, making travel smoother, faster, and environmentally safer for commuters.