India’s Longest Bridge, Capable Of Withstanding The Weight Of Tanks, To Be Inaugurated By PM Modi Today

India's longest river bridge, which is capable of withstanding the weight of a 60-tonne battle tank, will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi today, Press Trust of India has reported. Built over the Brahmaputra river near the country’s border with China in the Northeast, this 9.15 km-long bridge will cut down the travel time between Assam and Arunachal Pradesh by over four hours.

The bridge, 3.55 km longer than the Bandra-Worli sea link in Mumbai, will significantly improve connectivity to and in Arunachal Pradesh. It will provide people of Arunachal Pradesh access to rail head in Tinsukia and airport in Dibrugarh. The state has no operational civilian airport. After Kaliabhomora bridge near Tezpur in Assam, there is no bridge over the Brahmaputra river for the next 375 km upstream till Dhola, where the new bridge has been constructed.

It is located 540 km away from Assam capital Dispur and 300 km away from Arunachal Pradesh capital Itanagar. The aerial distance to the Chinese border is less than 100 km. The bridge has immense strategic importance as it will facilitate quick deployment of military assets in case of a conflict. In the words of Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, the bridge will facilitate “quick movement of troops and artillery. It will be used by people of Assam and Arunachal besides defence forces extensively”.

According to NDTV, there is no existing bridge in the region that is strong enough to allow the movement of tanks to Tinsukia, from where troops enter Arunachal.

The bridge is one of the flagship projects of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways in the Northeast and is built in public-private partnership.