Meet Dr. Madhabi Latha, engineer behind iconic Chenab Railway bridge
What's the story
The Chenab Bridge in Jammu and Kashmir, recently inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is being hailed as an engineering marvel.
Standing 359 meters above the riverbed—35 meters taller than Paris's iconic Eiffel Tower—the bridge is part of the 272km Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Railway Link (USBRL) project.
Among those instrumental in its construction is Dr. G Madhavi Latha. She is a Bengaluru-based professor who dedicated 17 years to this project as a geotechnical consultant.
Profile
A look at her degrees
Latha is a professor in the Civil Engineering Department at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru.
A specialist in rock engineering, she was roped in by Afcons as a geotechnical consultant for slope stabilization and bridge foundation.
She holds a BTech in Civil Engineering from Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, an MTech in Geotechnical Engineering from the National Institute of Technology, Warangal, and a Ph.D. from IIT-Madras.
Project
Real-time innovations to tackle challenges
Latha and her team used a "design-as-you-go approach," innovating in real time depending on geological conditions like fractured rocks, hidden cavities, as well as varying rock properties.
These challenges weren't visible in initial surveys. They made complex calculations and design modifications to adapt to the actual rock mass conditions encountered during construction.
Her advice on the design and placement of rock anchors significantly improved the bridge's stability.
Achievements
Honors and recognition
Latha, who joined IISc in 2004 as its first female faculty member, has been awarded several honors over the years.
These include the Best Woman Geotechnical Researcher award from the Indian Geotechnical Society in 2021, and a spot in India's Top 75 Women in STEAM (STEM plus Arts) list in 2022.
She recently published a paper titled "Design as You Go: The Case Study of Chenab Railway Bridge" in the Indian Geotechnical Journal's women's special issue.
Lauding
Anand Mahindra expresses appreciation
The paper explains how the Chenab Bridge's design has been a continuous evolution, with only the overall structure, location, and type remaining constant to suit the site's geological conditions.
Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra lauded Latha's "pivotal role" in constructing the bridge, calling her his "#MondayMotivation" on X.