Who is Prof. Madhavi Latha? Woman Who Helped Build the World’s Highest ‘Chenab Bridge’

As Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently dedicated the Chenab Bridge in Jammu and Kashmir, touted as the world’s tallest railway arch bridge, to the nation, the focus also shifted towards electrifying one of the lesser-known heroes behind this engineering marvel—Prof. G Madhavi Latha of the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru.

This towering building, a part of the ambitious Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) project, now links the Kashmir Valley with the rest of India, towering over 359 metres above the riverbed and 35 metres taller than the Eiffel Tower.

Prof. Latha’s Role in Construction of Chenab Bridge

Professor Latha, a geotechnical professional from IISc’s Civil Engineering Department, served as a consultant to the Northern Railways and Afcons, the main contractor for the bridge, for 17 years. Her experience was instrumental in making sure that the slopes were stabilized and the foundation of the bridge was designed in a manner that it could withstand extreme conditions.

She and her team were given the job of ensuring the bridge was earthquake-proof, at risk of floods, and wind speed that can reach as high as 260 kmph. “IISc handled slope stabilisation and foundation as the consultant, while foreign companies were involved in fabricating the steel arch. The planning for the bridge began in 2005, and it was finished in 2022 when trial runs with full speed trains were conducted,” Latha informed Deccan Herald.

Chenab Bridge was built by a South Korean-Afcons Infrastructure consortium, Ultra Construction & Engineering Company of South Korea, and VSL India. Spanning half a kilometre, the steel arch of the bridge has a design life of 120 years and lies across both banks with support from eight anchored piers on steep and complex slopes.

Latha’s ‘Design-As-You-Go’ Strategy

As opposed to conventional infrastructure projects that come with predetermined blueprints, the Chenab Bridge required a more adaptable strategy based on its turbulent terrain and inconstant geology. Professor Latha’s team took a ‘design-as-you-go’ approach, in which they could respond dynamically to the unexpected problems of fractured rock masses, concealed cavities, and inconsistent geological conditions.

“The process of building a civil engineering wonder like the Chenab bridge was full of challenges from conceptualization to execution. A brittle design with set dimensions and pre-conceived solutions would never have been possible given the constantly changing geological and geotechnical conditions,” she noted in an article in last month’s Indian Geotechnical Journal, as part of its Women’s Special issue.

She also added, “The design-as-you-go method used in the project allowed the construction of the bridge to be made possible notwithstanding the critical issues encountered in each phase along the 17-year period of its construction.”

One particularly difficult task was constructing arch abutments and foundations on steeply inclined rock faces with high discontinuity. The remedy proposed entailed advanced cement grouting technology and the support of slopes by rock and steel rods.

First Female Faculty to National Recognition

Before becoming a pillar behind India’s engineering marvel, Dr. Madhavi Latha earned her PhD in geotechnical engineering from IIT Madras and taught at IIT Guwahati. She joined IISc in 2004, becoming the department’s first woman faculty member.

“Earlier, there were no women’s-only toilets in the department. There were just men’s toilets. I had to struggle hard to have a women’s toilet in the geotechnical engineering building,” she remembered, as per IISc’s website.

Now Chair of IISc’s Centre for Sustainable Technologies, Latha’s contributions have been recognised nationally. In 2021, she received the Indian Geotechnical Society’s Best Woman Geotechnical Researcher award. The following year, she was featured among India’s Top 75 Women in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics).

Celebrated for Her Role in Nation-Building

After the bridge inauguration, IISc acknowledged her work on X (formerly Twitter), stating, “We take pride in Prof Madhavi Latha & her team’s work on the #ChenabBridge inaugurated by Hon’ble PM Narendra Modi. The team has worked on slope stability, foundation design & construction, slope stabilisation system design, including rock anchors to resist hazards.”

BJP MP Tejasvi Surya also praised her work: “Your contribution to this engineering wonder encourages young minds, particularly women in STEM fields, to lead in nation-building.”

From path-breaking work in slope stabilisation to overcoming intricate geotechnical obstacles, Prof. Madhavi Latha’s journey is one of perseverance, ingenuity, and unobtrusive leadership in India’s success in infrastructure.