Naluchi Bridge

Naluchi Bridge

Naluchi Bridge is Pakistan's First Cable Stayed Bridge which spans the Jhelum River near Muzaffarabad capital of  Azad Jammu and Kashmir.Following the devastating earthquake which reduced the city to rubles a comprehensive plan was developed to reconstruct the city in accordance with the modern construction standards."Western Bank bypass Construction Project"had a very high priority in this project as it was vital in easing the congestion of the city.The Bridge also holds the distinction of being the highest bridge of Pakistan.

In addition to the 5 km long road there was a need for a bridge to be built across the Jhelum River.The construction cost for the Bridge was estimated to be $246 million or PKR 2.46 billion.Th project was primarily funded by Japan Bank of International Cooperation (JBIC) .The construction for the bridge was started in 2009 and was due to be completed in 2012 but the project encountered many problems during its implementation with the primary obstacle being the availability of funds.After years of delay the bridge was finally completed and opened for public in August 2014.The Bridge has come as a blessing for the locals as it has educed traffic from Gillani to Chattar Chowk by almost 50%.The bridge connects Naluchi and Chattar on the banks of Jhelum River.


Ghulam Rasool and Company were the primary contractors of the Project.The Project was supervised by the leading consulting company of Pakistan NESPAK. The design of the bridge was prepared by the Japanese firm M/s Nippon Koi based on extra dosed philosophy.The bridge is 473 m long and and includes 452 m approach roads.The bridge also includes 246 m long main extra dosed bridge which spans the river.The bridge also features 15 m side walk on either side.The main deck of the bridge is  15.6 m wide and was constructed using the balanced cantilever erection method.This arrangement is the primary load bearing structure of the bridge.The bridge deck consists of a twin cell pre stressed concrete box girder that is carried by two levels of stay cables.Pile foundation was used in the construction.A staggering 188 m of piles were used in the foundation of the bridge and 17000 meter cube of soil was removed for its construction.The stay cables are made up of galvanized and waxed strands.