Urban Infrastructure: The Signature Cable-Stayed Bridge in Delhi

To relief the heavily congested north-eastern access to the metropolis of Delhi a new eight-lane bridge across the Yamuna river was required. The new bridge shall not only resolve the traffic problem but in a holistic approach become a new landmark for the northern part of Delhi and the seed of a new recreational area along the cleaned and recultivated Yamuna shores.

A single-pylon cable-stayed bridge now crosses the Yamuna river bed with a main span of 250 m to leave ample space for the future lake created here. The inverted Y-shaped pylon with a height of 150 m is leaning backwards to counterbalance the weight of the composite deck above the river. Also, the two cable planes of the main span are merged in the pylon to a central cable plane that leads to the backstay anchorages. The outcome was a uniquely shaped, origami-like pylon that is topped by a glass tip to act as a beacon at night.

The combination of a robust composite concrete deck with a prefabricated steel pylon made such a design feasible in the seismic area of Delhi. The bridge is equipped with an advanced monitoring system to ensure its anticipated durability into the next century.