Engineering at Scale
India’s bridge-building ambitions are scaling new heights. As the nation accelerates expressway corridors, urban metros, and mega river crossings, bridges have become symbols of progress—connecting not just geographies but economies and communities. Yet behind this ambition lie hard questions of quality, safety, and sustainability.
At a recent industry gathering on bridge construction, a panel of veteran engineers, policymakers, and industry leaders explored the road ahead. Their insights reveal a sector at once brimming with opportunity and fraught with challenges.
An expanding market
The numbers tell a compelling story. India’s bridge infrastructure market is set to grow from $42 billion in 2024 to $68 billion by 2031, at a CAGR of 6.2 per cent. Driving this expansion is a record Rs 11.11 trillion infrastructure budget in 2025, an 11 per cent increase over the previous year. Flagship programmes such as Bharatmala and Sagarmala will demand thousands of new bridges to connect highways, ports, and economic zones.
“We are constructing highways at 45 to 50 km per day. India is already the world’s second-largest country by road length,” noted Lt. Gen. Rajeev Chaudhry, VSM (Retd.), former DG, Border Roads Organisation. “This push will foster innovation, enhance connectivity, and increase efficiency. But unless we reform how we build and maintain, these gains may be short-lived.”
Raising the quality
One of the starkest realities is that bridges designed for 100 years are often failing in less than 40. D Sarangi, former DG (Road Development), and Special Secretary, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways of India, GoI, blamed systemic weaknesses: “Integrity issues aside, the real gap is in knowledge and skills on site. Too often, the pressure for progress overtakes quality.”
Sarangi highlighted the need for reviving departmental bridge cells, which once provided rigorous design and supervision, and reforming the “L1 syndrome” where lowest-cost bids win contracts. “When tenders are 30 per cent below estimates, there is bound to be compromise. We must evaluate on technical capacity and lifecycle accountability, not just cost.”
Materials of the future
Globally, materials are evolving rapidly. Dr Harshavardhan Subbarao, Chairman and MD, Construma Consultancy, and President-Elect, International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering (IABSE), explained: “Normal concrete has a strength of about 50 MPa. Ultra-high-performance concrete can go up to 200 MPa. That means stronger, slimmer, and longer-lasting bridges.”
He also pointed to corrosion-resistant steels, carbon fibre polymers, and low-carbon concrete as essential for sustainability. “We lose immense national wealth to corrosion. Weathering steels and high-grade alloys can drastically reduce this.”
Yet, India lacks comprehensive codes for many of these innovations. Vinay Gupta, MD, Tandon Consultants and DG, Indian Institute of Bridge Engineers, warned: “We’ve been designing cable-stayed and extradosed bridges for decades without Indian codes. Similarly, UHPC is being used without clear standards. Failures are happening more during construction than in operation—this is a red flag.”
Safety
Bridge construction is unforgiving. Temporary works collapse, scaffolding fails, or improper sequencing leads to disaster. “Globally, safety lapses are often traced to inadequate design of temporary works and poor sequencing,” said Dr. Subbarao, who also leads forensic investigations into bridge failures. “In India, we call it chalta hai. In risk engineering, it’s normalisation of deviance—doing something wrong repeatedly until it fails catastrophically.”
Sanjay Patil, Vice President & Head of L&T’s Bridges BU, Transportation and Infrastructure, emphasised that safety culture must start at the top: “Our Deputy CMD personally heads the safety body. Every incident is reviewed at the highest level. We use AI cameras to detect unsafe behavior, GPS-enabled barges for river sites, and rigorous induction training for all workers. Without this culture, safety remains lip service.”
But smaller firms often lack such frameworks. Sanjay Kumar Sinha, MD, Chaitanya Projects Consultancy, cautioned: “Autonomy for site teams is important, but without strict guardrails, it leads to compromise. Too often, safety audits are ignored, or outdated rigs are used for piling. We need empowerment with accountability.”
Foundations
Across projects, foundations remain the greatest source of delay and risk. In India’s rocky or riverine terrains, investigations are frequently inadequate. “We still rely on outdated plate load tests,” observed Dr. Subbarao. “Cone penetration tests and geophysical methods are faster, more accurate, and cost-saving in the long run. But they’re rarely adopted.”
Gupta recounted examples where load tests revealed piles carrying only 60% of intended capacity after entire piers were already built—necessitating costly retrofits. “We rush into construction, only to lose months fixing mistakes underground. Without thorough investigation, the fastest precast methods above ground won’t matter.”
Utility mapping is another blind spot. Unlike in the US, where a single call reveals underground networks, India routinely encounters “unknowns”—from water mains to power cables—only after excavation has begun.
The digital turn
The future of bridge construction lies in digital transformation. Around the world, tenders now mandate BIM (Building Information Modelling) and digital twin frameworks. India is inching forward, with metros like Pune and Nagpur adopting digital twins. But adoption is far from universal.
“Digital twins are not optional. They are global tender requirements,” stressed Dr. Subbarao. “We need a national framework, pilot projects, and digital-by-default mandates for large bridges.”
Contractors are beginning to respond. Patil described how L&T now mandates 3D BIM for all projects: “At the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link, every drawing was in 3D. We used LiDAR-enabled drones for surveys, QR-coded segments for traceability, and are piloting drones for painting the underside of bridges. This reduces rework, improves safety, and ensures accountability.”
Gupta added that drones can transform inspections: “They can fly inside box girders where human access is difficult, perform carbonation depth tests, and record failures. Combined with CCTV, this ensures accountability when something goes wrong.”
Integrity and governance
Underlying all technical debates is a cultural one. Chaudhary was blunt: “The construction industry is the most corrupt in the world. We must have zero tolerance. During my time at BRO, we cleared 90 per cent of contractor bills in nine days. That built trust and reduced corruption incentives. Such practices must be institutionalised, not person-dependent.”
A new paradigm
India has always dreamt big in bridges—from the ancient Ram Setu to modern marvels like the Bandra-Worli Sea Link and Chenab Bridge. The question is whether it can build consistently, safely, and sustainably at scale.
The roadmap is clear:
- Embrace performance-based design and advanced materials.
- Reform tendering to reward quality over cost.
- Institutionalise safety and training at every project tier.
- Invest in geotechnical science and digital technologies.
- Enforce zero tolerance to corruption.
As Subbarao summed up: “Digital transformation is not just technical—it’s strategic. It will decide whether India builds resilient, intelligent bridges or repeats past failures.”
And as Chaudhary reminded, India already has reasons for pride: “From Bandra-Worli to Bogibeel, our bridges make us proud. But we must also fix the failures that shame us.”
If these lessons are heeded, the bridges rising across India in the next decade will not just span rivers and valleys. They will symbolise a nation mastering the art of building with speed, safety, and integrity.
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