Bogibeel: Prime Minister Narendra Modi opened the Bogibeel railroad in Assam on December 25. This is touted to be India’s longest railroad bridge.
The bridge’s foundations were laid in 1997 and the five-kilometre wide structure spans the whole of the Brahmaputra river. The bridge will connect Assam’s Dibrugarh and Dhemaji districts which are on the Arunachal Pradesh border. This will help with the travel time between the two points by a minimum of 4 hours and will help prevent a 170 km detour.
With its proximity to the Chinese border, the bridge also plays a vital role in the country’s defence and has hence been built strong enough to support the movements of tanks and also impromptu fighter jet landings.
The bridge, which is country’s only fully-welded bridge for which European codes and welding standards were followed is built with designs similar to the one which links Sweden and Denmark. According to engineers, a fully welded bridge would cost less as it involves low maintenance charges.
According to the authorities, the bridge is said to have a lifespan of about 120 years and as of now is touted as Asia’s second-longest rail-and-road connector as it has a two-line railway track on the lower deck and a three-lane road on the top deck. This setting will ensure a reduction in the Delhi to Dibrugarh train travel time by about three hours.
The Prime Minister is also said to shortly flag off a train called the Tinsukia-Naharlagun Intercity Express, which will run for five days of the week.
The initial budget for the construction was said to be Rs 3,200 crore and the bridge was planned to be at a length of 4.31 km but the complete construction has extended the bridge to 4.9 km with an estimated cost of construction to be Rs 5,900 crore.
The project’s foundation stone was laid by the then Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda on January 22, 1997, but the work for the bridge began on April 21, 2002, under the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government.
The bridge was inaugurated today as it is Vajpayee’s birth anniversary.
The bridge will be a massive help to the residents of the rural districts of Anjaw, Changlang, Lohit, Lower Dibang Valley, Dibang Valley and Tirap in Arunachal Pradesh besides the Dibrugarh and Dhemaji districts in Assam.
