GUWAHATI, July 10 - Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu has assured that construction of the Bogibeel Bridge would be completed during 2017-18.
Prabhu informed about this to Governor Banwarilal Purohit in a letter.
The Governor had earlier written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi requesting the PMO�s intervention in expediting the construction of the Bogibeel Bridge.
Prabhu mentioned that all the 42 well foundations and piers of the main bridge have been completed.
Work of both north and south guide bunds, of rail link from Chaulkhowa to Moranhat, along with connectivity on North and South banks have also been completed, he said.
Presently, the work of main bridge superstructure is in progress and 35 girders out of 41 have already been launched.
Moreover deck slab concreting has commenced from North bank which is in the process of connecting the South soon, Prabhu informed Purohit.
The Bogibeel rail-cum-road bridge project was a part of the Assam Accord. The bridge project was sanctioned in the year 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 km downstream of Dibrugarh. It connects Silapathar in Dhemaji district on the north bank of Brahmaputra and Bogibeel in Dibrugarh district on the south bank.
