Centre Approves Third Bridge Worth Rs 996.75 Cr Over Brahmaputra In Guwahati

Furthering the vision of Gati Shakti, the Central Government has approved the project for Rail-cum-Road Bridge across Brahmaputra River near the existing Saraighat bridge at Guwahati.

This was informed by Nitin Gadkari, the Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, through a series of tweets on 28 September.

The project has been approved at a cost of Rs 996.75 crore, which will be shared by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and the Ministry of Railways.

A sum of Rs 322 crore for constructing approaches and viaducts will be entirely borne by NHAI.

Once the bridge is completed, it would provide seamless & strategic connectivity across the river, with heavy traffic at present of more than 75,000 PCUs (Passenger Car Units).

The newly approved Rail-cum-Road Bridge will be the third bridge at Saraighat. The other two existing bridges over Saraighat are a rail-cum-road bridge and a road bridge.

The First Saraighat Bridge was inaugurated on 16 January 1963. It is a rail-cum-road bridge over the river Brahmaputra and is being maintained by the Railways.

The 1.492-km-long bridge that is aptly named Saraighat Bridge - after the historic Battle of Saraighat of 1671 in which the Assamese had defeated the Mughals - is the first bridge on the Brahmaputra, and was hurriedly opened for military use during the Chinese aggression of November 1962 even before it was formally inaugurated.

The New Saraighat Bridge, also referred to as the 2nd Saraighat Bridge is a 1.4-km-long beam bridge, connecting both banks of the Brahmaputra at Saraighat.

The bridge spans the river Brahmaputra river besides Old Saraighat Bridge, and will ease the traffic congestion on the old Bridge to a great extent. Constructed at a cost of Rs 475 crore, the bridge was inaugurated in January 2017.