Bogibeel Bridge

Bogibeel Bridge
Coordinates27°24′31″N 94°45′37″E / 27.40861°N 94.76028°E / 27.40861; 94.76028
CarriesC2 NH 15
CrossesBrahmaputra River
LocaleAssam, India
Characteristics
DesignTruss bridge
MaterialSteel, Concrete
Total length4.94 kilometres (3.07 mi)
Longest span125 m (410 ft)
No. of spans41
History
DesignerRITES
Constructed byHindustan Construction Company (HCC) and Gammon India
Construction start21 April 2002
Opened25 December 2018
Location
Interactive map of Bogibeel Bridge

The Bogibeel Bridge is an operational, 4.94 km long, combined road-cum-rail bridge over the Brahmaputra River in the northeastern Indian state of Assam between Dhemaji city in Dhemaji district on north bank and Dibrugarh city in Dibrugarh district on south bank,[1][2] with double broad-gauge rail line at lower deck and 3-lane road highway on the upper deck.[3] It is the longest rail-cum-road bridge in India[4] and Asia's second longest rail-cum-road bridge.[5][6] 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.[4] The bridge is located just over 20 km south of the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border and acts as an alternative to the Kolia Bhomora Setu 270 km west at Tezpur in providing connectivity to nearly five million people residing in Upper Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.[7]

History

1985-2002: Conception

The bridge traces its origins to the Assam Accord of 1985 and was one of several major infrastructural projects to be set up in Assam in accordance with the pact.[8] 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.[9] The foundation of the bridge was laid in January 1997 by Prime Minister H. D. Deve Gowda, but its construction was inaugurated only in 2002 by Prime Minister, A. B. Vajpayee. Thereafter, North East Frontier Railway awarded the Design and Consultancy contract to RITES. Scientific Model Studies were done by UPIRI Roorkee. A Global Expression of Interest was invited, DSD Steel of Germany was shortlisted for construction of Superstructure Work. By 2004 the preliminary design and shortlisting of agencies was completed.[10]

202-11: Delays and cost overruns

Construction commenced in 2002 and took a total of 200 months (16 years and 8 months) to complete.[11] 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, but the implementation was slow, notwithstanding a Congress government in Assam.[7][12] In April 2008, the Northeast Frontier Railway contracted Gammon India 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.[13] Accordingly, the Union Ministry of Finance funded 75% of the project costs while the Ministry of Railways financed the rest.[7]

2011: Construction re-commenced

The actual work on the project recommenced only in 2011.[14] The bridge was constructed by a consortium of construction companies headed by Hindustan Construction Company.[15] The bridge's construction was subject to large time and cost overruns over time. The cost, initially estimated at ₹1,767 crore (US$180 million), escalated to ₹4,996 crore (US$520 million) by 2014.[16][17]

2018: Completed

On 2 December 2018, the bridge opened as the first freight train crossed it.[18] On 25 December, the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Bogibeel bridge, on the birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on the occasion of Good Governance Day, and also flag off an intercity express connecting Tinsukia and Naharlagun. The overall cost of the project ultimately escalated to ₹5,960 crore (US$620 million) as the total length of the bridge increased from 4.31 kilometres (2.68 mi) to 4.94 kilometres (3.07 mi).[19][3]

Naming controversy

The demand to name the Bogibeel Bridge after Sati Sadhani predated its construction. On 12 August 1997, the Chutia Jati Sanmilani submitted a memorandum to Sanjay Sachdeva, adviser to the then Union Railway Minister, seeking the name Sati Sadhani Setu for the proposed bridge.[20] The demand continued during the bridge's construction; by 2010, the All Assam Chutia Students' Union was also publicly demanding that it be named after Sadhani.[21]

In the run-up to the bridge's inauguration, its proposed naming became a matter of controversy. On 17 December 2018, the Government of Assam wrote to the Northeast Frontier Railway proposing that the bridge be named Birangana Sati Sadhani Setu after Sati Sadhani, the last queen of the Chutia Kingdom.[22] The demand to name the bridge after Sadhani had been raised by Chutia organisations before the bridge's completion; the All Assam Chutia Students' Union had included it among its demands by 2010.[23]

The government's proposal was welcomed by Chutia organisations and also received support from a number of other ethnic organisations. In December 2018, representatives of seventeen organisations, including bodies representing the Moran, Motok, Bodo, Rabha, Karbi, Dimasa, Tiwa, Hajong, Sarania Kachari and Mech Kachari communities, submitted a memorandum to Prime Minister Narendra Modi supporting the name Birangana Sati Sadhani Setu.[24]

Other organisations advanced competing names for the bridge. Several Tai Ahom organisations staged a blockade on National Highway 37 demanding that it be named Swargadeo Chaolung Sukapha Swamanyay Setu after Sukaphaa.[25] Several Mising organisations, including the Takam Mising Porin Kebang, sought to have the bridge named after freedom fighter Kamala Miri, while Deori organisations proposed the name of Bhimbor Deori.[26]

The bridge was ultimately inaugurated on 25 December 2018 under the name "Bogibeel Bridge".[27]

Details

Features

The bridge, with has a serviceable period of 120 years,[5] is the 6th longest bridge in India after the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link, Bhupen Hazarika Setu, Dibang River Bridge, Mahatma Gandhi Setu and Bandra–Worli Sea Link.[15] 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.[28] Owing to its strategic importance, it was also built with supporting the movement of tanks and aircraft in mind. The design of the bridge has 41 spans of 125 m and a superstructure of composite welded steel truss and reinforced concrete.[29][30][2]

Road connectivity

The bridge connects Dhemaji district and Dibrugarh district in Assam through National Highway 15.

Rail connectivity

The Bogibeel Bridge provides a connection between the Rangiya–Murkongselek section of the Northeast Frontier Railway, located on the northern bank of the Brahmaputra River, and the Lumding–Dibrugarh section that lies to the southern bank.[7] New Dibrugarh Railway Station, is linked to the Rangiya–Murkongselek line via Chaulkhowa and Moranhat, Railways has connected Dhamalgaon-Tangani rail line north of bridge to 44 km Chalkhowa–Moranhat line to the south.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Bogibeel Rail-Cum-Road Bridge Project Targeted for Completion by March 2018". Government of India. Press Information Bureau. 25 July 2014. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
  2. 1 2 "Bogibeel Rail Bridge, India". Retrieved 26 May 2013.
  3. 1 2 "After Opening India's Longest Railroad Bridge, PM Flags off Tinsukia-Naharlagun Express Train: Highlights".
  4. 1 2 "Wet season major constraint for India's longest rail-cum-road bridge". Archived from the original on 23 January 2015. Retrieved 26 May 2013.
  5. 1 2 "Bogibeel: India's longest rail-road bridge has lifespan of about 120 years". 23 December 2018.
  6. ↑ "New bridges and old fissues". 11 November 2023. p. 21. Retrieved 11 November 2023.
  7. 1 2 3 4 "A long wait for longest bridge in country". The Indian Express. 6 May 2012. Retrieved 26 May 2013.
  8. ↑ "'Assam Accord still vital'". Frontline. 27 (17). 14–27 August 2010. Retrieved 26 May 2013.
  9. ↑ "Note of conciliation". Frontline. 21 (25). 4–17 December 2004. Retrieved 26 May 2013.
  10. ↑ "Even after a decade, Bogibeel bridge waits to see light of the day". The Sentinel. 22 April 2012. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 26 May 2013.
  11. ↑ "India's longest road-rail bridge to be inaugurated by PM Modi this year". The Times of India.
  12. ↑ Bose, Pratim Ranjan (12 January 2018). "After 15 years, Bogibeel bridge in Upper Assam nears completion". The Hindu Business Line. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
  13. ↑ "HCC, associates bag Rs 987-cr railway order". The Hindu Businessline. 24 November 2011. Retrieved 26 May 2013.
  14. ↑ "Bogibeel: India's longest bridge has long list of controversies". India Today. 24 December 2018. Retrieved 27 December 2018.
  15. 1 2 "Bogibeel bridge's girder cost may escalate by Rs 300 crore: HCC". The Economic Times.
  16. ↑ "Bogibeel Rail-Cum-Road Bridge Project Targeted for Completion by March 2017". Government of India. Press Information Bureau. 25 July 2014. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
  17. ↑ "Railways battle to complete strategic Brahmaputra bridge by 2015". Daily News. 25 April 2012. Retrieved 26 May 2013.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  18. ↑ "'Engineering masterpiece' Bogibeel Bridge opens". Railway Gazette International. 9 January 2019. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  19. ↑ "Bogibeel: PM Modi inaugurates India's longest railroad bridge in Assam". The Economic Times. 25 December 2018. Retrieved 27 December 2018.
  20. ↑ "বগীবিল দলং: 'অটল সেতু' নহয়, 'বীৰাংগনা সাধনী'হে হ'ব লাগিব নাম; অটল চুতীয়া ছাত্ৰ সন্থা". NorthEast Now (in Assamese). Retrieved 22 August 2026.
  21. ↑ "Chutia students for ST status". The Assam Tribune. 15 September 2010. Retrieved 22 August 2026.
  22. ↑ "Row over naming Bogibeel bridge: Tai Ahom groups call road blockade". NorthEast Now. 18 December 2018. Retrieved 22 August 2026.
  23. ↑ "Chutia students for ST status". The Assam Tribune. 15 September 2010. Retrieved 22 August 2026.
  24. ↑ "17 organizations support All Assam Chutia Students' Union demand". The Sentinel. 23 December 2018. Retrieved 22 August 2026.
  25. ↑ "NH 37 stir for naming bridge after Ahom king". The Times of India. 21 December 2018. Retrieved 22 August 2026.
  26. ↑ "Bogibeel: India's longest bridge has long list of controversies". India Today. 24 December 2018. Retrieved 22 August 2026.
  27. ↑ "PM dedicates Bogibeel bridge to the nation; flags off first passenger train". Prime Minister of India. 25 December 2018. Retrieved 22 August 2026.
  28. ↑ "PM Modi inaugurates India's longest rail-road bridge in Assam". The Times of India. 26 December 2018. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
  29. ↑ "Dhola-Sadiya Bridge: 10 things to know - The Hindu". The Hindu.
  30. ↑ "Bogibeel Bridge project marks 10 years with slow work progress". The Times of India. 21 April 2012. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 26 May 2013.
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