LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh government is planning to develop the railway’s abandoned 115-year-old Lord Curzon bridge as 'skywalk' to enlighten the masses about the various culture sprouted along and around the Ganga river. The bridge will be made-up of transparent glass supported by metal frames and wires.
The 914 meter long skywalk connecting Prayagraj with Phaphamau from the Teliarganj area over the Ganga river, will have multi-media infotainment system, which will narrate culture, heritage, temples, food, clothes, mythology sprouted along the river Ganga specially in UP between Bijnor to Ballia district.
Principal secretary, tourism and culture department of UP, Mukesh Kumar Meshram said, “The project will be part of Arth Ganga focusing on promoting cultural and religious tourism on the river to generate sustainable income to clean Ganga. The skywalk will be completely made of glass supported by metal frames and ropes with solar panel on top, to power light system of bridge.”
“We are yet to prepare the detail project report, however the concept part is clear. It will a city attraction, which will enlighten the masses about the various cultures developed along the river Ganga over the centuries,” he added.
According to the railway officials, the construction of the Lord Curzon Bridge that catered to both rail and vehicular traffic was sanctioned in 1901 as a state railway bridge. The bridge has a single broad gauge (BG) line between the girders and a roadway on top. The engineer-in-charge was Robert Richard Gales. It opened for railway traffic on June 15, 1905, and for road traffic on December 20, 1905.
“Later due to structural weakness and other factors, the bridge was abandoned for railway operation several years and ago, but we offered the state government to redevelop the bridge as part of heritage,” said Sanjay Tripathi, the divisional railway manager of Lucknow division, northern railway.