Dhola-Sadia, India's longest bridge set to open in Assam today

Guwahati: Bringing Assam and Arunachal Pradesh closer, the country's longest river bridge at 9.15 km over the mighty Brahmaputra, is to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday. The bridge which links Dhola to Sadiya located near the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border in Assam's Tinsukia district, will cut travel time from over si

The Dhola-Sadiya bridge is longer than the Bandra-Worli Sea Link (5.6 km) in Mumbai by nearly two-thirds. The bridge -the fourth over Brahmaputra river after Saraighat, Kolia Bhomora and Bogibeel (nearing completion)  is expected to boost communication across the eastern part of neighbouring Arunachal Pradesh.

"The bridge will fill a huge connectivity gap that has existed in the region," a statement from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways said. "The bridge will also reduce the distance from Rupai on NH-37 in Assam to Meka/Roing on NH-52 in Arunachal Pradesh by 165 km," it added.

"The travel time between the two places will come down from the current six hours to just one hour - a total five hour reduction," the Ministry said. This would lead to Rs 10 lakh worth saving of petrol and diesel per day.

"This bridge will also give a major boost to overall economic development of the areas north of Brahmaputra in upper Assam and Arunachal Pradesh."It will also cater to the strategic requirements of the country in the border areas of Arunachal Pradesh, besides facilitating numerous hydro power projects coming up in the state," the statement added.

Built at a cost of Rs 2,056 crore, the total length of the Dhola-Sadiya Bridge project, including the approach roads on each side, is 28.50 km. The construction of Dhola-Sadiya bridge began in 2011 and the original target date for completion was December 2015.