The newly-opened Chenab Rail Bridge, the world’s highest railway bridge, constructed over the Chenab River in Jammu and Kashmir, is an engineering marvel. But do you know Dr G Madhavi Latha, a professor at Bengaluru’s Indian Institute of Science (IISc), has spent 17 years of her life behind this architectural marvel that stands 359 meters above the Chenab River surpassing even the Eiffel Tower in height?
For 17 years, Dr Latha has been involved in the Chenab Railway Bridge project as a geotechnical consultant. She graduated with a BTech in Civil Engineering from JNTU, Hyderabad (1992), then completed her MTech in Geotechnical Engineering from NIT Warangal, where she was a gold medalist. Her qualification was reinforced with a PhD in Geotechnical Engineering from IIT Madras (2000). After working at IIT Guwahati, she joined IISc in 2003 and now heads the Centre for Sustainable Technologies.
Dr Latha, in close collaboration with Afcons, practiced a groundbreaking ‘design-as-you-go’ policy to construct the bridge. This adaptive approach enabled her team to respond to unexpected geological complexities such as fractured rocks and concealed cavities, revising designs and consulting on vital components such as rock anchors for stability throughout. But Dr Lata isn’t someone who wants to walk away with all the adulation coming her way. She said in a post on social media that thousands deserve appreciation for the Chenab Bridge. However, she is happy that she has inspired many young girls to take up Civil Engineering as a career choice. “Please remember that I am one of the thousands who deserve appreciation for the Chenab bridge,” she said.