Assam | CCEA approves construction of four-lane bridge over Brahmaputra

News Desk:
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on Thursday approved the construction of four-lane bridge including approaches over Brahmaputra between Dhubri in Assam and Phulbari in Meghalaya on National Highway 127-B.
The construction of the bridge will save huge travel distance from 205.3 km to only 19.282 km and save in time of five hours to 20 minutes between Dhubri and Phulbari. An official release said the bridge will be built under the scheme of North-East Road Network Connectivity Project Phase-03′ and it will take about six years to complete the project. It said the project has strategic and socio-economic importance and shall be an instrument for the development of the most economically backward districts in the states of northeast.
“This alignment will further augment the transport network for the region by providing the shortest link between the western regions of Meghalaya, as well as Barak Valley region of Assam and southern states in the northeast,” the release mentioned.
The Dhubri – Phulbari bridge, planned to be completed by 2026-27, would be India’s longest bridge over water and would span more than 19 km. This proposed bridge, close to the Bangladesh border, will connect Assam’s Dhubri with Meghalaya’s Phulbari which is also a missing link of National Highway 127B . Civil works will start on 2019-2020. This is being funded by Japan International Cooperation Agency and it would be executed by NHIDCL
Other proposed bridges in the same region are Guwahati – North Guwahati, Bhomoraguri – Tezpur, Gohpur – Numaligarh, Jorhat – Tezpur and Disangmukh – Tekeliphuta.
At present, there are 6 bridges over the Brahmaputra.
Assam’s easternmost bridge, the Bhupen Hazarika Bridge, across the River Lohit, one of the tributaries of the Brahmaputra, is currently India’s longest bridge at 9.15 km. This bridge, connecting Dhola and Sadiya, is named after music maestro Bhupen Hazarika.