Construction company Larsen & Toubro has emerged as the lowest bidder at Rs 3,166 crore to construct a 20 km, 4-lane road bridge across the river Brahmaputra from Dhubri to Phulbari on NH 127B for the National Highways & Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd.
The bridge will connect two Northeast states of India – Assam and Meghalaya. It will be India’s longest road bridge over a river.
The project is being financed by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). The bridge will feature extradosed spans of 125 M for 12.63 km, a 60 M approach viaduct of 5.74 km and an approach road of almost a kilometre.
Expected to be completed by 2026-27, the four-lane 18.36 km bridge will be built along the National Highway 127-B. The proposed bridge, considered strategic, will connect the state of Assam and Meghalaya, reducing the detouring road distance by about 203 km from Dhubri to Phulbari, which lie on either side of the Brahmaputra before it flows into Bangladesh.
Currently, those who travel across these states either take the Naranarayan bridge, which is a huge inconvenience as it is 60 km upstream or row cross the river in small boats, which can take about two-and-a-half hours.
The journey is considered risky, especially in the rainy season when the river flows above the danger mark.
National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL) is the executing agency. On the Dhubri side (north bank), the approach – which includes an embankment and viaduct – will be around 4.3 km, while that on the Phulbari side (south bank) will be around 2.3 km.
