Work has commenced on the country’s longest bridge over the mighty River Brahmaputra in the Northeast. The 19 km bridge that will be built between Dhubri in Assam to Phulbari in Meghalaya will provide a third alternative link to the states of Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura from Assam. Laying the foundation stone of the bridge on November 18, Prime Minister Narendra Modi observed, “Once the 19 km bridge from Dhubri to Phulbari is completed, connectivity to Barak Valley will be strengthened. Moreover, this bridge will help significantly reduce the travel time to Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura from Assam. Imagine, the 250 km distance from Meghalaya to Assam in the future will be reduced to merely 19 km. The bridge will also facilitate travel to countries in the neighbourhood.” The bridge which is scheduled for completion by September 2028 will also enhance connectivity to the countries of Bhutan and Bangladesh that lie near the region. Also speaking at the stone laying ceremony for the bridge at Phuloni in Assam, Minister for Road Transport & Highways, Nitin Gadkari, remarked, “Assam and Meghalaya will have a direct connection with West Bengal through this bridge. The 55 km-long road construction from Serampore in West Bengal to Dhubri, Assam, will begin this October. It will save the distance and time needed to travel to Bhutan and Bangladesh.” A 10-Year Demand Fulfilled Commencement of work on the project meets a decade-old demand for such a bridge in the area. The construction arm of Indian engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) to services sector multinational, Larsen & Toubro has secured the contract to construct it. To be built on the National Highway 127-B, the bridge will feature a navigation bridge of 12.625 km and approach viaducts of 3.5 km on the Dhubri side and 2.2 km on the Phulbari side that will be connected with approach roads and interchanges on both sides. “This is an extremely challenging project, and we thank our client, National Highways & Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd. (NHIDCL) for reposing confidence in our capability to build such a defining piece of infrastructure,” said SV Desai, Whole Time Director & Senior Executive Vice President of Civil Infrastructure, L&T. The bridge will be of immense strategic importance as it will help improve the connectivity of the Northeastern states with the rest of the country and establish a vital link between Assam and Meghalaya by shortening the distance between Dhubri and Phulbari by 203 km. Currently, the travel between Dhubri and Phulbari by river ferry services takes upwards of two hours. Since 2014, the Northeastern region has witnessed the launch as well as completion of several big-ticket infrastructure projects. The projects are an important part of the Central Government’s “Act East Policy” that seeks to develop the region as India’s gateway to Southeast Asia. The nearly 5 km-long road-and-rail Bogibeel Bridge was completed in December 2018 and is the country’s first such structure to have fully welded steel-concrete support beams. Launched in April 2002, several construction delays led the project to be finally executed in about 16 years. The bridge will be built at Rs 50 billion and will be funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) through a low-interest loan. The Dhubri-Phulbari bridge will be the eighth bridge over the Brahmaputra. - MANISH PANT