© Amartya DeyHooghly II Bridge 1993
Hooghly II Bridge 1993
The Bridge
The city of Kolkata in West Bengal, India, has grown rapidly to a population of around 15 million for the metropolitan area. In the 1970s a second bridge across the Hooghly River was required to ease traffic congestion between the city and neighbouring Howrah. A cable-stayed bridge was built and opened in 1992. It now carries around 85,000 vehicles a day.
The bridge is officially named the Vidyasagar Setu, after a 19th-century social reformer and educator.
Bill Brown, then at Freeman Fox, was commissioned to check the bridge design of Schlaich Bergermann Partner. The bridge was the first cable-stayed bridge in India and remains the longest span.
Second Hooghly Bridge
Also known as Vidyasagar Setu
Key Facts
Road bridge
Multi-cabled fan arrangement
Location
Kolkata, India
Across the Hooghly River
Consulting Engineers
Schalich Bergmann (designers)
Dr William Brown, Freeman Fox & Partners (checking)
Bharat Bhari Udyog Nigam (checking)
Description
Cable-stayed suspension bridge
Steel-reinforced concrete deck
457m main span
823m total length
Main contractors
BBJ Construction
Gammon India Ltd
Construction
Opened 10 October 1992
Other long-span bridges
