In June 2013, rains centered on the north Indian State of Uttarakhand caused devastating floods and landslides. In addition to a great loss of life, the event caused extensive property damage, including the destruction of a bridge at Sonprayag, a critical crossing on the route taken each year by hundreds of thousands of Hindu pilgrims on the trek to the Kedarnath Temple. Although a temporary bridge was quickly installed at the site, it was washed away twice by floods, so a more robust Acrow bridge was selected by the Uttarakhand Disaster Recovery Project team to serve as a permanent solution, with funding provided by the World Bank.

The Acrow solution, which sits 2,600 meters above sea level, is a 60.96 meter (200′) clear span bridge, customized to address local conditions. Unlike previous crossings, the new structure can accommodate two lanes of traffic, allowing far more capacity for pilgrims and local residents.

In remote locations such as this, modular steel solutions are often the best option; substandard road conditions can make it difficult to transport lengthy steel beams or heavy prefabricated concrete structures to site. In contrast, the modular steel components used for the Sonprayag bridge were shipped in standard ocean containers then delivered to site on compact, easily-maneuverable 6.5-meter-long (21.3′) trucks. Additionally, while a traditional bridge would have taken more than three years to build, the Acrow steel structure was completed in 45 days, and installed using minimal construction machinery and local labor.

For over 60 years, Acrow has restored and rehabilitated critical infrastructure assets all over the world, replacing bridges lost to natural disasters and providing safe and secure crossings to restore connectivity.