Atal Setu is a

cable-stayed bridge A cable-stayed bridge has one or more ''towers'' (or ''pylons''), from which cables support the bridge deck. A distinctive feature are the cables or stays, which run directly from the tower to the deck, normally forming a fan-like pattern o ...

on the

Ravi River The Ravi River () is a transboundary river crossing northwestern India and eastern Pakistan. It is one of five rivers associated with the Punjab region. Under the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960, the waters of the Ravi and two other rivers were ...

near Basholi Town ,District Kathua, commissioned on 24 December 2015 by former Defence Minister Manohar Parrikkar. The bridge spans between

Basholi Basohli (formerly Vishwasthali) is a town near Kathua in Kathua district in the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It is situated on the right bank of River Ravi at an altitude of 1876 ft. It was founded by Raja Bhupat Pal som ...

and

Dunera HMT (Hired Military Transport) ''Dunera'' was a British passenger ship which, in 1940, became involved in a controversial transportation of thousands of "enemy aliens" to Australia. The British India Steam Navigation Company had operated a prev ...

and aims to improve road connections between

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

, Jammu and Kashmir and

Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh (; ; "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen mountain states and is characterized by an extreme landscape featuring several peaks ...

. This bridge is first of its kind in North India and fourth of its kind in nation. The other such three bridges are in Mumbai ( Bandra-Worli sealink), Allahabad (

Naini Naini (also known as Naini Industrial Area) is a satellite neighborhood and a twin city of Prayagraj in Prayagraj district, Uttar Pradesh, India. By the 1950s Naini was established as the chief industrial area of the city. History Naini had a ...

) and Kolkata ( Hooghly). IIT New Delhi approved the design of this bridge and the foundation stone was laid in May 2011 by UPA Chairperson

Sonia Gandhi Sonia Gandhi ('' née'' Maino; born 9 December 1946) is an Indian politician. She is the longest serving president of the Indian National Congress, a social democratic political party, which has governed India for most of its post-independ ...

. The bridge was designed by a Canadian consultant, McElhanney Consulting Services Ltd. (formerly Infinity Engineering Ltd.). The

Border Roads Organization The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) is a road construction executive force in India that provides support to and is now a part of the Indian Armed Forces. BRO develops and maintains road networks in India's border areas and friendly neighboring ...

, IRCON, Infinity and SP Singla Constructions Pvt Limited undertook its construction. The bridge is named after former Prime Minister

Atal Bihari Vajpayee Atal Bihari Vajpayee (; 25 December 1924 – 16 August 2018) was an Indian politician who served three terms as the 10th prime minister of India, first for a term of 13 days in 1996, then for a period of 13 months fr ...

, and was opened one day before his birthday.

References

{{reflist Bridges in Punjab, India Transport in Pathankot Memorials to Atal Bihari Vajpayee Cable-stayed bridges in India 2015 establishments in Punjab, India Bridges completed in 2015