India’s First Glass Floor Suspension Bridge to Come up in Uttarakhand’s Rishikesh
- The Uttarakhand Government has approved the design of a glass floor suspension bridge, the first of its kind in the country, which will be built across the River Ganga in Rishikesh.
- The bridge is as an alternative to the iconic Lakshman Jhula, almost 94 years old, which was closed in 2019 due to safety reasons
- The bridge design has been prepared by the Public Works Department (PWD), and is the first of its kind in India to have a floor made of toughened transparent glass.
Key Features of the Bridge
- The bridge will be built parallel to Lakshman Jhula, with a total width of 8 metres.
- It will consist of two toughened glass floors each with a width of 1.5 metres and as many 2.5-metre asphalt roads in between meant for light motor vehicles like two-wheelers.
- The toughened glass floor will be 3.5 inches thick with the capacity of bearing a load of more than 750 kg per square metre at a stretch.
- The span of the bridge will be 132.3 metres long with seven feet high toughened glass railings on either side of the structure.
- The life span of the bridge will be at least 150 years.