This is the Atal Pedestrian Bridge, a new foot overbridge over the Sabarmati, in Ahmedabad

The city of Ahmedabad has a new pedestrian overbridge over the Sabarmati River. Named after former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the bridge stands between the Ellis Bridge and the Sardar Bridge. It is 300m long with a width varying between 10m and 14m. The interesting aspect of this bridge is its unique design which is created in accordance with a passion that the city residents have – that of flying kites, which manifests itself in the festival of Uttarayan, which falls on Jan 14th.

“The kite is the inspiration behind the tubular steel superstructure with three spans. The design was complex and challenging,” said a senior AMC official. The official added that the design was selected after a competition. STUP Consultants of Mumbai had won the design competition. “Since the design was complex, P&R was chosen as the contractor, the official said. “The contractor specializes in steel superstructures, including steel bridges in the Himalayas and in the tough terrains of the Northeast.”

It is a single span steel truss bridge with two additional foundations. The cross section of the truss has rhombus shape similar to kites. The elevation of the truss gives the impression of an arch which is supported on spherical bearings on each end. The depth of the truss varies across the length. The bridge is shaded by colourful fabric panels with colours inspired by kites. They protect people from harsh sun of a Gujarat summer.