Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday performed the Bhumi Pujan ceremony for a new bridge over the Brahmaputra River in Western Guwahati. The 4-lane road bridge will connect Palashbari in the south with Assam’s silk capital Sualkuchi in the north.
The event was held at Bathan Pam in Sualkuchi, and it marks the formal start of the construction of the bridge that will provide vital connectivity in the region. CM Himanta Biswa Sarma tweeted, “Marking another milestone in our infrastructural journey, the 12.21 km long Palasbari-Sualkuchi Bridge will bridge the gap between the two important places and boost connectivity in the State.”
The project’s foundation stone was laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 14, 2023, and the estimated cost of the project is ₹ 3197.20 crore. The project is supported by the New Development Bank (NDB), which approved a $300 million loan in 2019.
The 12.21 km long bridge includes a 3.6 km long cable-stayed bridge portion, a 5.61 km approach on the Palashbari side and a 3 km approach on the Sualkuchi side including wetland approach viaducts. Two approach viaducts of 0.216 kilometres each and wetland viaducts of 0.864 kilometres are included in the approach sections.
The construction arm of Larsen & Toubro Limited (L&T) has won the contract awarded by Assam’s Public Works Roads Department to build the bridge, defeating SP Singla Constructions.
The 12.21 kilometre long 4-lane extradosed Prestressed Concrete bridge will connect Palashbari on National Highway 17 to Sualkuchi via the Bongshar-Sualkuchi Road. The bridge will provide connectivity to the Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport. The upcoming Indian Institute of Management (IIM) in Guwahati is also located near the southern end of the bridge.
This is among the several new bridges being constructed and proposed on Brahmaputra. The 6-lane Guwahati-North Guwahati bridge is nearing completion and will be opened next year, while another bridge on Eastern Guwahati is being built as part of the Guwahati Ring Road project. A second bridge between Jogighopa and Pancharatna, India’s longest 20 km Dhubri-Phulbari bridge, and the Jorhat-Majuli bridge are under construction.
A third bridge at Saraighat in Guwahati which will be a rail-road bridge, a tunnel under Brahmaputra in central Assam, another bridge between Marigaon and Darrang districts have been approved and constructions for them will start soon, while another bridge between Sivsagar and Lakhimpur districts is under consideration.
