Tel: రాజమహేంద్రవరం rājamahēndravaraṁ
‘King Mahendra’s City’ City, Andhra Pradesh (AP)
Rajaraja Narendra founded this city in the 11thC. He was a Vengi king, part of the Eastern Chalukya dynasty that ruled much of South India in the 7-12thC.
Rajahmundry is a British corruption of the name.
The modern city boasts a handful of famous bridges spanning the Godavari:
- the Godavari Bridge (4,250), a rail and road bridge: the third longest railroad bridge in India, built in the 1970s;
- the Godavari Arch Bridge (2,745 m), a railway girder bridge designed to replace the Havelock Bridge which opened in 1997;
- the Old Godavari Bridge/Havelock Bridge (2,700 m), built in 1897 and decommissioned in 1997;
- the Dowleswaram Barrage (3,599 m), an irrigation bridge built in 1850 and re-built in 1970;
- and the Godavari Fourth Bridge (5,062), a dual carriageway road bridge opened in 2015.
For related place names see Indian Place names and Andhra Pradesh place names.
Video: The Great Godavari Arch Rail Bridge, Rajahmundry
