Bogibeel Bridge
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The Bogibeel Bridge is a combined road and rail bridge over the
Brahmaputra River The Brahmaputra is a trans-boundary river which flows through Tibet, northeast India, and Bangladesh. It is also known as the Yarlung Tsangpo in Tibetan, the Siang/Dihang River in Arunachali, Luit in Assamese, and Jamuna River in Bangla. I ...
in the northeastern Indian state of
Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...
between Dhemaji district and
Dibrugarh district Dibrugarh (Pron:ˌdɪbru:ˈgor:) is an administrative district in the state of Assam in India. The district headquarters are located within the city of Dibrugarh, which the district itself is named for. The district occupies an area of 3381&n ...
, which was started in the year 2002 and took a total of 200 months to complete, Bogibeel river bridge is the longest rail-cum-road bridge in India, measuring 4.94 kilometres over the Brahmaputra river. As it is situated in an earthquake-prone area it is India's first bridge to have fully welded steel-concrete support beams that can withstand earthquakes of magnitudes up to 7 on the
Richter scale The Richter scale —also called the Richter magnitude scale, Richter's magnitude scale, and the Gutenberg–Richter scale—is a measure of the strength of earthquakes, developed by Charles Francis Richter and presented in his landmark 1935 ...
. It is Asia's second longest rail-cum-road bridge and has a serviceable period of around 120 years. It is the 5th longest bridge in India after Bhupen Hazarika Setu,
Dibang River Bridge The Dibang River Bridge is a beam bridge across Dibang River which connects Bomjir and Malek villages and provides all-weather connectivity between Dambuk and Roing in eastern part of Arunachal Pradesh, India. At 6.2 km long, it is the seco ...
,
Mahatma Gandhi Setu Mahatma Gandhi Setu (also called Gandhi Setu or Ganga Setu) is a bridge over the river Ganges in Bihar, India, connecting Patna in the south to Hajipur in the north. Its length is and it is the third-longest river bridge in India. It was inau ...
and
Bandra–Worli Sea Link The Bandra-Worli Sea Link (officially known as Rajiv Gandhi Sea Link) is a 5.6 km long, 8-lane wide bridge that links Bandra in the Western Suburbs of Mumbai with Worli in South Mumbai. It is the longest sea bridge, as well as the 4th longes ...
. The bridge was constructed by a consortium of construction companies headed by Hindustan Construction Company. The bridge has a double rail line on the lower deck and a three lane road on the upper deck. It was inaugurated by Prime Minister
Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the 14th and current Prime Minister of India since 2014. Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament from ...
on 25 December 2018 on the occasion of
Good Governance Day Good Governance Day (Hindi: सुशासन दिवस, IAST: ''Suśāsan Divas'') is observed in India annually on the twenty-fifth day of December, the birth anniversary of former-Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Good Governance Day ...
.


Location

The Bogibeel Bridge, situated 17 km downstream of
Dibrugarh Dibrugarh (pron: ˌdɪbru:ˈgɑ:) is an industrial city in Upper Assam with sprawling tea gardens. It is located 435 kms East from the state capital of Dispur. It serves as the headquarters of Dibrugarh district in the state of Assam i ...
and
Dhemaji Dhemaji (Pron: deɪˈmɑ:ʤi or di:ˈmɑ:ʤi) is a City in Assam and it is the headquarters of Dhemaji district, Assam, India. Etymology The district's name ''Dhemaji'' is derived from the Deori word ''Dema-ji'' which means ''great water'' indi ...
, spans the Brahmaputra River and will connect the town of Dibrugarh in the south to
Dhemaji Dhemaji (Pron: deɪˈmɑ:ʤi or di:ˈmɑ:ʤi) is a City in Assam and it is the headquarters of Dhemaji district, Assam, India. Etymology The district's name ''Dhemaji'' is derived from the Deori word ''Dema-ji'' which means ''great water'' indi ...
to the river's north. The bridge is located just over 20 km away from the Assam-
Arunachal Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh (, ) is a state in Northeastern India. It was formed from the erstwhile North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA) region, and became a state on 20 February 1987. It borders the states of Assam and Nagaland to the south. It shares ...
border and acts as an alternative to the
Kolia Bhomora Setu Kolia Bhomora Setu, an existing bridge completed in 1987, is a 3.015 km long pre-stressed concrete road bridge on NH-715 over the Brahmaputra River in Tezpur Assam state of India, which connects Tezpur in Sonitpur district on northern ba ...
, Tezpur in providing connectivity to nearly five million people residing in
Upper Assam Upper Assam is an administrative division of the state of Assam comprising the undivided Lakhimpur and Sivasagar (previously, Sibsagar) districts, of the upper reaches of the Brahmaputra valley. The other divisions are: Lower Assam, North Assam ...
and Arunachal Pradesh. The Bogibeel Bridge is the longest rail-cum-road bridge of India on the
Brahmaputra River The Brahmaputra is a trans-boundary river which flows through Tibet, northeast India, and Bangladesh. It is also known as the Yarlung Tsangpo in Tibetan, the Siang/Dihang River in Arunachali, Luit in Assamese, and Jamuna River in Bangla. I ...
in Assam. Owing to its location, the bridge is of strategic importance to India as it significantly eases India's ability to transport troops and supplies to the border with Tibet in Arunachal Pradesh. Being located in an area of intense rainfall, its construction had been significantly slowed down by the fact that construction largely took place only during a period of four dry months between November and March.


Road connectivity

The bridge connects Dhemaji district and
Dibrugarh district Dibrugarh (Pron:ˌdɪbru:ˈgor:) is an administrative district in the state of Assam in India. The district headquarters are located within the city of Dibrugarh, which the district itself is named for. The district occupies an area of 3381&n ...
in Assam through National Highway 15.


Rail connectivity

The Bogibeel Bridge provides a connection between the Rangiya–Murkongselek section of the
Northeast Frontier Railway The Northeast Frontier Railway (abbreviated NFR) is one of the 19 railway zones of the Indian Railways. It is headquartered in Maligaon, Guwahati in the state of Assam, and responsible for operation and expansion of rail network all across No ...
, located on the northern bank of the Brahmaputra River, and the Lumding–Dibrugarh section that lies to the southern bank. A New Dibrugarh Railway Station, expected to be the largest in the region, has been proposed and is to be linked to the Rangiya–Murkongselek line via Chaulkhowa and
Moranhat Moranhat (IPA: ˈmɔːrænˌhɑːt) is a town and a town area committee in Charaideo district in the Indian state of Assam.The town is divided by N.H 37 into Charaideo and DibrugarH district. Etymology The place used to be a trade centre where ...
. The Railways have initiated the gauge conversion of the Dhamalgaon to Sisiborgaon rail line to the north of the bridge and commissioned the 44 km Chalkhowa–Moranhat line to the south.


History

The bridge traces its origins to the
Assam Accord The Assam Accord was a Memorandum of Settlement (MoS) signed between representatives of the Government of India and the leaders of the Assam Movement. It was signed in the presence of the then-Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in New Delhi on 15 Au ...
of 1985 and was one of several major infrastructural projects to be set up in Assam in accordance with the pact. It was sanctioned by the Government of India in 1997-98 and was expected to be completed by the end of the Ninth Five Year Plan. The foundation of the bridge was laid in January 1997 by Prime Minister
H. D. Deve Gowda Haradanahalli Doddegowda Deve Gowda (; born 18 May 1933 in) is an Indian politician from the state of Karnataka. He served as the 11th prime minister of India from 1 June 1996 to 21 April 1997. He was previously the 14th Chief Minister of Karn ...
, but its construction was inaugurated only in 2002 by
Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
, A. B. Vajpayee. The project was to be completed in six years following the inauguration, however the work did not begin even in 2007, owing to lack of funds and attention. Consequently, that same year, the Bogibeel Bridge was granted a national project status by the Government of India in 2007 by Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh Manmohan Singh (; born 26 September 1932) is an Indian politician, economist and statesman who served as the 13th prime minister of India from 2004 to 2014. He is also the third longest-serving prime minister after Jawaharlal Nehru and Indir ...
, but the implementation was slow, notwithstanding a Congress government in Assam. Accordingly, the Union Ministry of Finance funded 75% of the project costs while the
Ministry of Railways A Ministry of Railways is a Cabinet department that exists or has existed in many Commonwealth states as well as others. It generally occurs in countries where railroad transportation is a particularly important part of the national infrastructur ...
financed the rest. The actual work on the project only began in 2011. In April 2008, the Northeast Frontier Railway contracted
Gammon India Gammon India Limited is one of the largest civil engineering construction companies in India. Headquartered in Mumbai, it was founded in 1922 by John C. Gammon. Notable projects Gammon India has executed some notable civil engineering project ...
to construct the sub-structure of the bridge while a consortium of Hindustan Construction Company, DSD Brückenbau GmbH, Germany and VNR Infrastructures won the bid to build the superstructure. The bridge's construction was subject to large time and cost overruns over time. The cost, initially estimated at , escalated to by 2014. According to a press release by the Indian Ministry of Railway on 25 July 2014, in the main bridge 36 out of 42 well foundations and 28 out of 40 piers had been completed, while 2 out of 41 girders had been launched. An expenditure of was incurred on the project till March 2014, and a further outlay of was sanctioned for the year 2014–2015, with the project then-expected to be completed by March 2017. However, a correspondent writing in ''
The Hindu Business Line ''Business Line'' or ''The Hindu Business Line'' is an Indian business newspaper published by Kasturi & Sons, the publishers of the newspaper ''The Hindu'' located in Chennai, India. The newspaper covers priority industry verticals, such as Agri ...
'' claimed that when he visited the project in July 2014, only 15 out of the 42 piers were "coming up", while the work on the rest had barely begun. On 2 December 2018, the bridge opened as the first freight train crossed it. On 25 December, the Indian Prime Minister
Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the 14th and current Prime Minister of India since 2014. Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament from ...
inaugurated the Bogibeel bridge, on the birth anniversary of 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 also flag off an intercity express connecting
Tinsukia Tinsukia (Pron: ˌtɪnˈsʊkiə) is an industrial town. It is situated north-east of Guwahati and away from the border with Arunachal Pradesh. It is the administrative headquarters of Tinsukia District of Assam, India. History During th ...
and
Naharlagun Naharlagun is a town situated in the foothills of Himalayas in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. It falls and is administered as a part of Itanagar Capital Complex. Geography It is at an altitude of 155 metres from sea level. Surrounded ...
. The overall cost of the project ultimately escalated to as the total length of the bridge increased from to .


Structure

The design of the bridge has 41 spans of 125 m and a superstructure of composite welded
steel truss A truss bridge is a bridge whose load-bearing superstructure is composed of a truss, a structure of connected elements, usually forming triangular units. The connected elements (typically straight) may be stressed from tension, compression, o ...
and
reinforced concrete Reinforced concrete (RC), also called reinforced cement concrete (RCC) and ferroconcrete, is a composite material in which concrete's relatively low tensile strength and ductility are compensated for by the inclusion of reinforcement having hig ...
. It is designed to be able to carry a double line
broad-gauge railway A broad-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge (the distance between the rails) broader than the used by standard-gauge railways. Broad gauge of , commonly known as Russian gauge, is the dominant track gauge in former Soviet Union (CIS ...
on the lower deck and a 3-lane road on the upper deck. Owing to its strategic importance, it was also built with supporting the movement of tanks and aircraft in mind. It is the longest combined rail and road bridge in India and second longest bridge in Assam over the
Brahmaputra The Brahmaputra is a trans-boundary river which flows through Tibet, northeast India, and Bangladesh. It is also known as the Yarlung Tsangpo in Tibetan, the Siang/Dihang River in Arunachali, Luit in Assamese, and Jamuna River in Bangla. It ...
, after Bhupen Hazarika Setu at 9.15 km.


See also

* List of bridges on Brahmaputra River


References

{{Reflist Railway bridges in India Bridges in Assam Bridges over the Brahmaputra River Transport in Dibrugarh Road bridges in India Road-rail bridges in India Bridges completed in 2018 2018 establishments in Assam Dibrugarh district