Assam bridge to open on Atal’s birth anniv to pay him homage

| | New Delhi

The Indian Railways is now expediting the formalities to commission the country’s longest road-rail bridge in Assam, the foundation stone of which was laid by late Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 2002. Vajpayee had then desired that the bridge called Bogibheel should be completed in five years time and that it be commissioned in 2007.

Well placed sources said the Ministry of Railways and the State Governments have coordinated to get the bridge commissioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 25 coinciding with Vajpayee’s birth anniversary.

The demand to construct a bridge to connect Assam and Arunachal Pradesh was first raised by the citizens in the North-eastern region under the banner Dibrugarh Nagarik Sangha in 1962.

Dibrugarh Nagarik Sangha mourned the demise of Atal Bihari Vajpayee at a special condolence meeting on Friday.

Vajpayee laid the foundation stone of the ambitious project on April 17, 2002, at the historic Chowkidinghee grounds along with then Railway Minister Nitish Kumar. 

“Earlier the bridge was to be single track line, but when this was brought to the notice of Vajpayee, he immediately directed Nitish to sanction double lines so that it lasts for centuries,” said a North Frontier Railway official.

The flood situation has made it difficult and dangerous for workers to continue the work on this Rs 5,000-crore project. This bridge once fully operational will connect Dibrugarh in Assam to Pasighat in Arunachal Pradesh.

Boghibeel, now touted as India’s longest road-rail bridge, measures 4.94 km, features three-lane roads on top, and two railway lines below. Sources said all the civil, electrical and signalling works of the bridge has been completed with minor inspections left due to the rainy seasons.

The distance between Dibrugarh and Arunachal Pradesh via Boghibeel will be phenomenally reduced to 100 kms than the earlier 500 kms detour. The bridge being closer to Arunachal Pradesh is also strategically significant to boost defence along the India-China border.

The NH-37 at South Bank and NH-52 at North Bank of the Brahmaputra River will be linked by a 29.47-km-long national highway. The bridge is a 100 per cent welded bridge, and advanced technology from companies of Sweden and Denmark has been used for the construction of this bridge.