In an exclusive conversation with SSMB, Deepak Prajapati, Founder & Director of Force Structural Engineers, reflects on a career shaped by engineering precision, complex bridge design and a relentless pursuit of constructability. From analysing massive offshore oil and gas platforms in the Netherlands to designing steel, cable-stayed and extradosed bridges across India, his journey has been defined by solving problems where conventional solutions rarely exist. In this interview, Deepak shares how offshore engineering influenced his design philosophy, why every bridge demands a unique engineering response, and how thoughtful material selection and constructability are becoming central to the future of bridge infrastructure.
Before founding Force SE, you worked with Allseas on offshore oil and gas platforms. What did offshore engineering teach you that conventional bridge engineering rarely experiences?
Working in offshore engineering fundamentally changed the way I approached structural design. Oil and gas platforms typically weigh between 15,000 and 25,000 tonnes, making them significantly larger than most bridge superstructures. More importantly, every engineering decision undergoes multiple levels of scrutiny because the cost of failure is extraordinarily high.
That environment instilled a culture of rigorous analysis, verification and quality control. While bridge engineering also demands high standards, offshore structures operate at an entirely different level of design validation. Those years taught me that engineering excellence lies not only in designing efficiently but also in questioning every assumption before construction begins.
The discipline I developed offshore continues to influence every bridge we design today.
“Engineering excellence begins with questioning every assumption before construction starts.”
In 2013, you and three IIT Bombay batchmates founded Force Structural Engineers. Why did you choose bridges as your niche instead of entering the far larger building sector?
We consciously wanted to build expertise rather than compete on volume. Residential, commercial and industrial buildings already had numerous established players. Bridges, however, offered an opportunity to specialise in a technically demanding field where engineering innovation could make a meaningful difference.
From the beginning, we decided to remain focused on bridge engineering rather than diversify across multiple sectors. That decision allowed us to develop deep technical capabilities in cable-supported bridges, steel bridges, launching methodologies and complex structural systems.
Looking back, choosing a niche gave us both clarity and identity.
You’ve designed everything from creek crossings to cable-stayed and extradosed bridges. How does your engineering approach change from one project to another?
Every bridge presents a completely different engineering problem. Span length, construction speed and site accessibility are always part of the equation, but their relative importance changes from project to project.
Sometimes the primary challenge is achieving a long span economically. In other cases, the bridge itself may be relatively straightforward while the launching methodology becomes the critical engineering problem. That was exactly the situation on one of our bridge projects in Mizoram.
Our responsibility as bridge engineers is not to apply standard solutions, but to understand which constraint governs the project and develop the most appropriate response accordingly.
There is no universal solution in bridge engineering.
Bridge designs in India are structurally robust. Yet, what constructability issues continue to affect long-term performance?
Indian bridge engineers devote enormous attention to structural safety, and rightly so. Our bridges are generally designed with a high degree of engineering rigour. However, relatively simple details such as drainage systems and expansion joints often receive less attention than they deserve.
These components may appear minor on drawings, but they directly influence durability, maintenance requirements and user experience. Poor drainage leads to waterlogging, while inadequate expansion joints affect ride quality and increase long-term maintenance demands.
If we begin treating these details with the same seriousness as structural analysis, the overall quality and lifespan of bridge infrastructure will improve significantly.
“Great bridges are defined not only by structural safety, but by the quality of the details people experience every day.”
Where do you see steel genuinely outperforming concrete in bridge construction, and where does concrete remain the better engineering choice?
Each material has its strengths, and good engineering lies in selecting the right one rather than favouring one over the other.
Steel becomes the natural choice for longer spans because reducing dead load quickly becomes critical. It also offers significant advantages wherever prefabrication, lightweight construction and accelerated project delivery are important.
Concrete, however, continues to offer economic advantages for shorter spans and many conventional bridge applications.
Rather than asking whether steel should replace concrete, we should ask which material best solves the engineering problem before us. In many cases, the answer will be steel. In others, it will remain concrete.
Engineering is ultimately about choosing the most appropriate solution—not the most fashionable one.
If one bridge anywhere in the world represents the benchmark you believe Indian bridge engineering should aspire towards, which would it be?
For me, it is the Erasmus Bridge in Rotterdam. I first encountered it while working in the Netherlands, and it has remained one of the finest examples of integrated bridge engineering I have seen.
What makes it exceptional is not simply its scale. It achieves an outstanding balance between structural efficiency, architectural elegance and construction quality. Each aspect complements the others without compromise.
There are certainly longer bridges and technically more complex bridges around the world, but Erasmus continues to demonstrate how engineering, architecture and execution can work together to create infrastructure that remains timeless.
“The best bridges balance engineering efficiency, architectural elegance and construction quality in equal measure.”
SSMB POV
Deepak Prajapati’s perspective reinforces a fundamental truth of bridge engineering: there are no standard solutions to complex infrastructure. As projects become more ambitious, success will increasingly depend on engineering judgement, constructability and selecting the right material for the right span, not simply designing for structural adequacy.
