Double-decker bridge at Saraighat in Guwahati gets approval

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: Union Cabinet approved the third double-deck bridge across the Brahmaputra today with an estimated cost of around Rs 996 crore at Saraighat in Guwahati.

Welcoming the approval, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said, "I express my gratitude to the Prime Minister for his continued push for the development of the Northeast."

National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) and the Ministry of Railways will share the cost of the bridge. NHAI will bear the Rs 322-crore cost for approaches/viaducts to the bridge. Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari said, "Once the bridge is complete, it would provide seamless and strategic connectivity across the river with heavy traffic of more than 75,000 PCUs (passenger car units)."

The construction of the existing road-cum-rail bridge at Saraighat began in 1958 and was completed in 1962. The first engine rolled across the bridge on September 23, 1962, and Goods train services started on October 31, 1962. The roadway opened in March 1963. BC Ganguly designed the bridge.

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