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Mahesh

05/08/24 06:47 AM IST

Bailey bridge

In News
  • A major challenge in the rescue efforts was the continued rains in the region, making the movement of men and materials difficult.
  • To solve this problem, the Indian Army’s Madras Engineer Group built a “Bailey bridge”, which was assembled at Chooralmala, to reach Mundakkai village — one of the sites worst hit by the landslides.
Bailey Bridge
  • Simply, it is a type of modular bridge, one whose parts are pre-built so that they need minimal construction work and can be assembled quickly when needed.
  • A US Army Engineer School manual notes that the Bailey bridge originated during wartime. Donald Coleman Bailey, an English civil engineer, invented it during World War 2 (1939-45).
  • The manual says, “In 1941, Bailey gave his first sketch of the bridge to the British War Office…
  • The Bailey bridge used in World War II was designed to be moved, rebuilt, or replaced in several hours, even under enemy fire.
  • It was used widely and well by Allied armies in Italy and northwest Europe, 1943-45.
  • British Field Marshal Lord Bernard Law Montgomery said: ‘Without the Bailey bridge, we should not have won the war. It was the best thing in that line we ever had.’”
Working of Bridge
  • The pre-fabricated parts in a Bailey bridge include light steel panels linked through pins, which are big, screw-like objects.
  • These help establish the guardrails of the bridge.
  • Through the guardrails on either side, workers place beams to form the deck or path of the bridge.
  • All beams were constructed such that they would lock in on the guardrails to ensure stability.
  • After that, the bridge can be extended, and the lightness of the parts allows it to be mobile.
  • No heavy installation equipment is needed. In disaster relief situations, this is ideal because parts can be transported in small trucks — something also of use during wartime.
  • Such bridges were used in the 1971 war with Pakistan for the liberation of Bangladesh.
  • In the past, Bailey bridges have also been constructed in a strategically important village along the India-China border in Arunachal Pradesh, and in Uttarakhand in 2021 after flash floods hit the state.
Source- Indian Express

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