Progress report on bridge construction

The past decade has witnessed a sea change in the implementation of bridge projects. NN Sinha, Chairman, National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), and Managing Director, National Highways & Infrastructure Development Corporation (NHIDCL), shares an update on recently completed and upcoming bridge projects:“Recently, NHAI has completed an eight-lane bridge of about 500 m within a year. Major bridges are coming up over Koshi and Ganga in coming years. For NHIDCL, major forthcoming projects include Asia’s longest bridge between Dhubri (Assam) and Phulbari (Meghalaya) at 20 km; Jogighopa in Assam at 3 km; Gohpur-Numaligarh bridge in Assam at 13 km (over river Brahmaputra); and Mechi Bridge at 1.5 km on the India-Nepal border at Pani Tanki, West Bengal, over river Pheni at Sabroom, Tripura, on the India-Bangladesh border at 1.9 km, and on river Chenab between Jammu & Akhnoor in Jammu & Kashmir. NHIDCL is also exploring the possibility of a bridge between Chatham and Bambooflat in South Andaman Island over the sea. No one could have imagined this in the past. But such news will now be a regular feature, mainly owing to developments in computational facilities, new materials, equipment, etc.”