Marking a strong presence! Boosting road connectivity, Assam and Meghalaya to be linked by a four-lane bridge
New Delhi, March 2: The part of the country which had been neglected for these many years has now got an exposure! The North-East is now exploring not just by exemplifying its beauty and exquisiteness but also by engaging in infrastructure and development. To add in to the list of growth, the states road connectivity will now get a major boost!
In a decision made by the cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, it has decided and approved construction of four-lane bridge including approaches over river Brahmaputra between Dhubri on the north bank and Phulbari on south bank on NH-127 B in the Assam, Meghalaya. The total length of the bridge will be 19.282 Km.
As per the official release, the bridge will be built under the scheme of North-East Road Network Connectivity Project Phase-03’ under loan assistance with JICA at the civil construction cost of Rs 3,548 crore and total capital cost of Rs 4,997.04 crore including the cost of Rs 55.68 crore towards the cost of land acquisition, resettlement and rehabilitation and other pre-construction activities. The project is expected to be complete in approximately six years.
Aside from boosting road connectivity, the project will also have strategic and socio-economic importance. The construction of this bridge over river Brahmaputra will cut down travel distance from 205.3 Km to only 19.282 Km. The bridge will also cut down travel time from five hours to 20 minutes between Dhubri in Assam and Phulbari in Meghalaya.
Worth mentioning here is that the project will be an instrument for the development of the most economically backward districts in the states of North East. It 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 NE namely Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura and the rest of the country, including the ports of Kolkata.