Dhola-Sadiya bridge, Assam
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10 facts, in brief
Bringing Assam and Arunachal Pradesh closer, the country's longest river bridge - the Dhola-Sadiya - constructed over the mighty Brahmaputra
1. The new, three lane, 9.15 kilometre Dhola-Sadiya bridge+ has been built over river Lohit, a tributary of the Brahmaputra, and links Dhola in Assam to Sadiya in Arunachal Pradesh.
2. Earlier, the only means to cross the Brahmaputra at this location was by ferry in the daytime, and even this was not possible during floods. The Dhola- Sadiya bridge will ensure 24X7 connectivity between upper Assam and the eastern part of Arunachal Pradesh.
3. The bridge will also reduce the distance from Rupai on NH-37 in Assam to Meka/Roing on NH-52 in Arunachal Pradesh by 165km, cutting down on travel time from the current six hours to just one hour.
4. This, the government claims, will result in saving of petrol and diesel worth Rs 10 lakh per day.
5. Given the fact that the North East is prone to high seismic activity, the bridge has been provided seismic buffers in all its 182 piers.
6. The total length of the Dhola-Sadiya bridge project, including the approach roads on each side, is 28.50km. The length of the bridge itself is 9.15km.
7. Constructed at a total cost of Rs 2,056 crore, the bridge is part of the Arunachal Package of Roads and Highways under the Ministry's Special Accelerated Road Development Programme for North East.
8. The Dhola-Sadiya bridge promises to provide efficient road connectivity to remote and backward areas which have poor road infrastructure, which will give a major boost to overall economic development of the areas north of the Brahmaputra in upper Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.
9. The bridge will also benefit the army, with convoys requiring less time to journey from Assam to the posts along the India-China border in Arunachal Pradesh. The bridge is also expected to enhance India's defence capabilities in the northeastern region.
10. The government said it will also facilitate numerous hydro power projects coming up in the state, as it is the most sought-after route for various power project developers.
Asia’s longest bridge
Dipak Dash, PM to inaugurate Asia's longest bridge in Assam, May 15, 2017: The Times of India
Asia's longest bridge on Brahmaputra will reduce travel time between Assam and Arunachal Pradesh by four hours.
The Dhola-Sadiya bridge, capable of withstanding the weight of a 60-tonne battle tank, will improve the movement of civilian and military vehicles to strategic locations up to Anini in Arunachal Pradesh. Anini is barely 100km from China border.
While the inauguration of the 9.15km bridge by Prime Minister Narendra Modi just before the monsoon is being seen as a big gift to the people of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, who either take a long detour to cross the river or spend over four hours crossing the mighty Bramhaputra in a ferry , it has huge strategic importance as well. At present, there is no bridge fortified for passage of tanks around Tinsukia from where troops can cross over to Arunachal Pradesh. Moreover, it will cut time for the armed forces to reach the border in Dibang and Anjaw via Tezpur, which takes two days (about 186km from Guwahati) now.
TOI had reported in September that the road transport and highway ministry was working hard to make the bridge operational before this monsoon. The two-lane bridge has been built with design speed of 100kmph to facilitate fast movement.
Road ministry sources said that the bridge connectivity is also important as Arunachal Pradesh does not have a single operational airport and with China building air strips on its side of the line of actual control it will come as a shot in the arm for the military . They added that the existing national highway stretch between Meka and Anini (NH-13) is being widened to two lanes.
The construction of the bridge began in June 2011 at a project cost of Rs 950 crore.“The work on approach roads of the main bridge is in full swing and we will complete them before inauguration,“ road ministry sources said.
