Narendra Modi inaugurates India’s longest bridge in Assam; Construction began under Dr Manmohan Singh

NEW DELHI (INDIA): The Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi has inaugurated India’s longest bridge – the 9.15 km long Dhola-Sadiya bridge over the River Brahmaputra in Assam.nnThis was his first engagement on the third anniversary of his swearing-in as Prime Minister.nThe bridge will enhance connectivity and greatly reduce travel time between Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.nnAfter unveiling a plaque to mark the inauguration, the Prime Minister travelled, and walked on the bridge for a few minutes.nnLater, addressing a public meeting at Dhola, the Prime Minister said that the inauguration of the bridge marks the end of a long wait for the people of this area.nnHowever, the New Brahmaputra Bridge Project with a length of 9.8km being constructed in Bihar for replacing the ageing Mahatma Gandhi Setu and funded by Asian Development Bank is expected to get the tag of Longest bridge in India in future.nnThe construction began in 2011 during the tenure of the Dr Manmohan Singh led UPA government, under the aegis of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways in public private partnership (PPP) with Navayuga Engineering Company Limited.nnThe bridge was scheduled to become operational from December 2015, but finish of construction works was delayed. The project cost around 10.00 billion rupees and will take around 4.5 years to complete. It is 3.55 kilometres (2.21 mi) longer than the Bandra Worli Sea Link in Mumbai, making it the longest bridge in India.nnThe construction expert team is led by B. Surya Raju, chief project manager,under the supervision of K.Jagadishwara Rao Director Navayuga Engineering Company Limited, Hyderabad. The project aims to construct a 12.9-metre-wide (42 ft) external post tensioned bridge with 183 spans each of 50 metres (160 ft) along with a two-lane connecting road from Dhola Bazaar to Islampur Tiniali. It will become the longest bridge above water in India.