History
This is commonly known as the “Old Attack Bridge“. The Attock bridge is one of the most important strategic and commercial crossings on the Indus River between Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa states and is therefore heavily fortified. Originally designed by Sir Guilford Molesworth, it opened on 24 May 1883.
The Attock Bridge is located between Attock Kurd and Khairabad Kund on the Indus River in Pakistan. This is commonly known as the “Old Attack Bridge”. The bridge is one of the most important strategic and commercial crossings on the Indus River between Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa states and is therefore heavily fortified. Originally designed by Sir Guilford Molesworth, it opened on 24 May 1883. The construction cost is more than 3.2 million rupees.
More about Attock bridge
Following Colonel Robertson’s detailed report, excerpts of which are reproduced above, the British government approved Rs 10,000. He began construction of this tunnel on his March 12, 1860. The project was shelved for several months. He also received his 10,770 rupee grant in January 1861, but the work was not continued. From May 1861 he was suspended again until November 1861, when some heavy equipment did not arrive in time.
In the summer of 1862, another mechanical failure brought work to a halt. Meanwhile, the British government had spent his Rs 59,300, far more than the original estimate. At that point, work was halted until all issues and causes of delays were investigated. When work on the tunnel was finished, only 258 feet remained between his two ends of the bore, which met underground to complete the tunnel. This is part of the amazing history associated with his Indus bridging efforts at Attock. I don’t think many people know that a tunnel was dug here that reached nearly 258 feet to the main street before it was abandoned. Do the tunnels under
Attock’s Indus still exist? I don’t know. But I would like to know. Are both ends of the tunnel still there? Is the tunnel still at the bottom, or is it completely submerged? Does any knowledgeable reader know this? According to reference [2], 1862 By 2012, the leaks in the tunnel had become so severe that workers were unable to keep up with the drainage, and the project was shelved. Another war with Afghanistan breaks out, this time trying to build another permanent crossing at Attock for the next 20 years, until British orders complete the railway to Peshawar at all costs.
The structure was redesigned by Sir Francis Callahan and rebuilt in 1929 at a cost of Rs 2.5 million. The bridge is 2 levels 5 spans. Three spans are 257 feet long and two spans are 312 feet long. The upper floor was for railways and the lower floor was for roads. The approach to the bridge was built as a fortified fortress as a defense against raids from nearby Pashtun tribes. This bridge was part of the famous Grand Trunk Road.
In 1979 a new bridge was built and traffic was transferred to it. This new bridge is known as the “New Attock Bridge”.
