DIBRUGARH: Bogibeel, Asia’s second longest rail-cum-road bridge that will be opened to traffic by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday, has a serviceable period of around 120 years, senior officials said here.
The 4.9 km-long Bogibeel Bridge on the Bramhaputra river is India’s only fully welded bridge for which european codes and welding standards were adhered to for the first time in the country, said Chief Engineer Mohinder Singh.
Singh said a fully welded bridge has a low maintenance cost.
The bridge, constructed at an estimated cost of Rs 5,900 crore, has a “serviceable period of around 120 years”, he said.
The bridge reduces travel time from Assam to Arunachal Pradesh to four hours and will cut out the detour of over 170 km via Tinsukia.
It will also reduce Delhi to Dibrugarh train-travel time by about three hours to 34 hours as against 37 hours presently.
Modi will open the bridge to traffic, 16 years after it was announced by then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vjpayee.
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