<b>Bibek Debroy:</b> Bridges too old, but without heritage status

CAG reports highlight delays in rehabilitation of old bridges

The Jubilee Bridge was an old railway bridge, between Naihati and Bandel and across the river Hooghly. It possessed features to interest engineering enthusiasts. It was a cantilever truss bridge. It used only rivets, no nuts or bolts. It had a unique feature of pendulum bearings. This bridge had a plaque of much later vintage.  The plaque told us construction started in 1882 and was completed in 1887. It being the Jubilee Year of Queen Victoria, it was inaugurated on February 16, 1887, by Earl Dufferin, viceroy and governor general, and christened Jubilee Bridge. The plaque also listed the names