Golden Jubilee of Ayub Bridge Commemorative
Postage Stamp June 15, 2012:- The
bridge was designed by Dr. D.B Steinman of New York and it was constructed by
Doman Long Ltd (German) in association with M.S Gammon Construction Ltd.
(Pakistan. Construction of Ayub Bridge was commenced on November 26, 1959 and
completed on March 17, 1962. Total cost of the bridge at the time of
construction was 21.6 million Pak rupees. The bridge was inaugurated by the
then President of Pakistan, Field Marshal Muhammad Ayub Khan and opened for
Rail traffic on May 6, 1962.
This is Steel Arch Suspension
Bridge. The height of Crown of arch above bearing is 204.7 feet. The quantities
of steel, High Tensile steel and Mild steel are respectively 131 tons, 1002
tons (main chord) and 1907 ton (rest of the portion of bridge). Span of the
bridge is 806 feet and 9 inches.
The road over the Sukkur barrage
involving a distance of 13 kilometers betweenSukkur and Rohri Railway Station
remained the only road connection between Sukkur and Rohri. It was decided to
utilize the Lansdowne Bridge for road traffic by providing a roadway. The work
was started on December 16, 1963 and completed on June 10, 1964. By opening of
roadway the distance for the road taffic between Sukkur and Rohri was reduced to
5 kilometers as against 13 kilometers over the Sukkur Barrage. Lansdowne
Bridgte was a road bridge and it is still in working condition having full
functional capacity. There is a beautiful Hindu sacred shrine in downstream of
this bridge with a graceful Army Restoration.
It has a proper decking for Army
purposes. It may serve as a road bridge as well as an emergency bridge during
war time. Even the heaviest vehicle like Tanks can also easily cross over this
bridge. It is truly called as the masterpiece of Railway Engineers.
There was no such engineered arch
at that time in Asia, when this arch of 800 meters was buils in 1962. Even
today as it stands, has the third largest arch’s position in Asia. Ayub Bridge
has been constructed with the help of such a fine and best quality material
that it still stands in its original state. While coming from Lahore to Rohri,
this gigantic bridge can be easily seen from a distance of 04 kilometers.
On the Golden Jubilee of Ayub
Bridge, Pakistan Post is issuing a commemorative postage stamp of Rs.8/-
denomination on June 15, 2012.
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