BENGALURU: Coming from Yedugundlapadu, a small village in Andhra Pradesh, where she was the first engineer ever, Professor Madhavi Latha is now among the technical minds behind the Chenab Rail Bridge — the world’s tallest railway bridge — inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday.
Madhavi, who hails from a family of farmers, completed her entire schooling in government school. The youngest of four siblings, she had initially dreamt of becoming a doctor. But with limited resources, her parents suggested engineering, which was more affordable through government colleges.
Madhavi pursued her BTech from Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University (JNTU), Andhra Pradesh, followed by MTech at NIT Warangal, a PhD from IIT Madras, and a post-doctorate in rock engineering from IISc, where she has been teaching since 2003 and also chairs the Centre for Sustainable Technologies.
Her association with the Chenab Bridge project began in 2005 and lasted until its completion in 2022. Working first with Professor TG Sitharam, former professor at IISc Bangalore and former director at IIT Guwahati who is currently serving as Chairman of the All India Council for Technical Education and later independently, Madhavi served as a rock engineering specialist to Northern Railways through Afcons Limited where she was the consultant. Her role focused on one of the most critical aspects of the bridge — ensuring slope stability and designing geotechnical safety systems for the foundations.
This was vital because the bridge site lies in the Lower Himalayan region, one of the most tectonically active and geologically complex zones in the world. The terrain consists of steep, fractured rock slopes, loose soil, and is prone to frequent seismic activity.
The presence of fast-flowing mountain rivers, such as the Chenab, adds further complications — the water has a high erosive force, and the narrow valleys increase the risk of landslides and slope failure.
Constructing a structure of this scale, with a 359-metre-high steel arch, on such terrain required extensive geotechnical planning. Madhavi’s work involved detailed analysis of slope conditions, designing stabilisation techniques like rock anchors, bolts, and retaining systems, and ensuring the foundation could resist both gravity and environmental stress.