GUWAHATI, July 4 - Work on the long-awaited Bogibeel Bridge is progressing at a fast pace and Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) has completed launching of the 35th girder of the bridge.
NFR officials said that the 35th girder was launched in June. Another six girders remain to be completed and they are expected to be completed by September.
�The sub-structure works for the bridge have already been completed. There are 41 girders, out of which 35 have been launched till date,� said an official.
He added, �Girder fabrication and assembly works are being executed with state-of-the-art welding technology as per European standards. The project is progressing as planned. The Railway authorities are planning to complete launching of all the girders by September.�
Work on the viaduct in the north bank of the Brahmaputra and the approaches on the National Highway in that direction have already been completed.
�Deck slab concreting of 10 spans have been done and further work are in progress. Track linking from the north bank side has been taken up,� said an official, adding that on the south bank work is being carried out by the PWD (National Highways) on the approach road connecting the bridge.
The Bogibeel rail-cum-road bridge project was a part of the Assam Accord. The bridge project was sanctioned in 1997 and was declared as a National Project in 2007.
The total project cost is estimated at around Rs 5,000 crore.
The bridge site is 17 kms downstream of Dibrugarh and connects Silapathar in Dhemaji district on the north bank of the Brahmaputra and Bogibeel in Dibrugarh district on the south bank.
At 4.94 kms, the Bogibeel rail-cum-road bridge will be the longest bridge over the Brahmaputra and also the longest rail-cum-road bridge in India.
The bridge is planned for commissioning within the current fiscal.��
Apart from the main bridge, the project also incorporates guide bunds (2,043 metres of guide bunds on the south bank and 2,792 metres on the north bank) and road viaducts on the north and south banks, 32 kms of dyke strengthening, National Highway road network of 30 kms, railway network of 74 kms and six new stations, including Dibrugarh station.
