Sign In
Learn bits
Science & Tech.
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

More Related Current Affairs View All

05 Mar

First-ever comprehensive survey of India’s river dolphins

'Prime Minister Narendra Modi released the results of the first-ever comprehensive population estimation of riverine dolphins – Gangetic and Indus dolphins – done in In

Read More

05 Mar

Arresting women at night

'The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court in Deepa versus S. Vijayalakshmi and Others ruled that the legal provision in the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, which

Read More

05 Mar

Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023

'The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) looking to wrap up public consultations on the draft Rules for the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 by Mar

Read More

India’s First Ai-Driven Magazine Generator

Generate Your Custom Current Affairs Magazine using our AI in just 3 steps