Boost for north east road connectivity! 4-lane bridge to connect Assam with Meghalaya. Check details
A year after the longest river bridge in India, Dhola-Sadiya, was opened in the north-eastern state of Assam, the Modi government has announced plans for a longer bridge, again over the river Brahmaputra. The announcement came by the government ahead of the opening of the world’s longest sea bridge, between the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong. According to an IE report, the new bridge over the river Brahmaputra is likely to be completed by the year 2026-27. It will run between Dhubri in Assam and Phulbari in Meghalaya, which is close to the Bangladesh border. At 19.3 km, the new bridge will be twice as long as the Dhola-Sadiya bridge, which at present, is the longest in the country.
- The proposed new bridge will run between Dhubri and Phulbari. Currently, people cross the river either in small boats or by vehicles that have to take a longer route of 100 km before climbing the Naranarayan bridge. According to an official of the Assam’s Public Works Department, four lanes have been proposed for the project. A detailed project report is being prepared by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways through the National Highways and Industrial Development Corporation Limited (NICL) and an initial loan amount has been approved by Japanese funding agency JICA. As India looks to build yet another long river bridge, we list out the longest river bridges of the country:
- The country’s longest river bridge at present, which is 9.15 km long, lies between Dhola and Sadiya in Assam. Moreover, it extends up to 28.50 km if the approach roads on either side are included. The bridge reduces the distance from Rupai in Assam to Roing in Arunachal Pradesh by 165 km, and travel time from 6 hours to just an hour.
- The 6.2 km long bridge in Arunachal Pradesh, over the river Dibang, was opened this year. Currently, it is the second longest in the country.
- The 5.75 km long bridge between Patna and Hajipur, over the river Ganga is the next on the list of river bridges.
- The 5.6 km long Bandra Worli Sea Link in Mumbai is the longest bridge over sea. The sea-link project has been built by the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) at a cost of Rs 1,702 crore.
- A 4.94 km long bridge, Bogibeel is all set to be opened this year. It is the country’s longest rail-cum-road river bridge. The bridge will be over the river Brahmaputra and will connect Dibrugarh in Assam to Pasighat in Arunachal Pradesh. It has two railway lines at its lower deck and a three-lane road bridge on the top. At present, a train journey from Arunachal Pradesh to Dibrugarh means a detour of 500 km via Guwahati. But, with the commencement of the Bogibeel bridge, the train journey will cover less than 100 km. Also, train travel time from Delhi to Dibrugarh will also come down by about 3 hours to 34 hours as against 37 hours presently.
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