Pamban Bridge
in India
Pamban railway bridge connects the town of Rameswaram on Pamban Island to mainland India. Opened on 24 February 1914, it was India's first sea bridge. It has steel girders on concrete piers, and a double-leaf Scherzer bascule section midway, which can be raised to let ships and barges pass through.
Construction began in August 1911 and the bridge was opened on 24 February 1914.
It was the only vehicular connection between Tamil Nadu's island of Rameswaram and the mainland until 1988, when a road bridge was also constructed parallel to the rail bridge. This road bridge is also known as Annai Indira Gandhi Road Bridge.
See Wikipedia entry.
The bascule bridge and its broader context in communication links between India and Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) were described in 'The Engineer' in 1914[1]. The consulting engineer was Robert White. The constructors were Head, Wrightson and Co. The bascule bridge was erected under the supervision of R. L. Larson of the Scherzer Co.