Out of all the rivers in Assam, Brahmaputra continues to be the lifeline of Assam. The fertile plains of the mighty Brahmaputra account for almost all the human settlements that took place on its river banks. And therefore, several bridges have been built over the Brahmaputra river to make transportation easier.
As of 2024, Assam has six significant bridges over Brahmaputra River. The Minister of Road Transport and Highway (MoRTH) is yet to approve three new bridges in Assam.
This article will provide a few important points about each of these 6 bridges
The Bogibeel bridge is a 4.94 km long road/rail bridge that links Dhemaji and Dibrugarh district. Bogibeel Bridge and Dibrugarh Town only have a distance of 17 kms in between. The estimated budget for construction of Bogibeel bridge was around 5920 crores.
It was opened to the public on 25th December 2018. The Bogibeel Bridge has both a road and a railroad. It features a double line, wide gauge railroad and a three lane highway. It is built entirely of full-steel concrete composite grinders, making it the first one of it's kind in the country.
As of 2022, the Bhupen Hazarika Setu (Dhola Sadiya Bridge) is the longest bridge in India. This 3-lane bridge extends to almost 9.15 km and it is built above one of the major tributaries of Brahmaputra, the Lohit river. It was inaugurated on 26th May 2017, and connects Dhola and Sadiya.
Unlike Bogibeel bridge, it is only built for road transport. It can easily hold up to 60 tons of weight, and can even hold tanks.
The Kolia Bhomara Setu is a 3 km long bridge that links Kaliabor with Tezpur, and is one of the oldest bridges of the state. It was inaugurated in the year 1987, and named after the Ahom General Kolia Bhomara Phukan.
The naming was done to honor him as he was the one who initiated plans to construct a bridge in that location during his lifetime. He was also beginning to gather rocks for the mission. But he could not fulfill the task due to his untimely death.
Saraighat is recorded as the oldest bridge over Brahmaputra river. It totals 1.492 km, and was opened to the public in 1963.
This bridge is located in Pandu area of Guwahati city and it connects that area to the Amingaon area of Kamrup Rural.
New Saraighat Bridge is a 1.49km beam bridge that exists parallely to the old one.
Unlike the old one, the New Saraighat Bridge is a 3 lane road bridge. It connects Pandu with the Kamrup Rural district of Assam
Naranarayan Setu was opened for public use in 1998, and it links Jogighopa (Bongaigaon district) and Pancharatna (Goalpara district).
This bridge is named after a Koch ruler from the 16th century. It was the third bridge built over the mighty Brahmaputra and is about 2.284 km long.
The Dhubri-Phulbari Bridge is being built over the Brahmaputra River, connecting Assam and Meghalaya in Northeast India. The Dhubri - Phulbari bridge, to be completed by 2028, will be India’s second-longest bridge over water, after the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link, stretching over 19 km. Located near the Bangladesh border, the bridge will link Assam’s Dhubri with Meghalaya’s Phulbari, completing a missing part of National Highway 127B and improving road connections to towns like Tura and Nongstoin in Meghalaya. Construction began in 2019-2020, with funding from the Japan International Cooperation Agency, and the project is being handled by NHIDCL. It is one of six planned bridges over the Brahmaputra River.
