STAFF REPORTER
GUWAHATI: Assam's first six-lane high-tech extradosed bridge over the river Brahmaputra, connecting Guwahati and North Guwahati, is around 62 per cent complete, even though very few people have observed the ongoing work and its progress. If things go according to schedule, the new bridge will be ready for inauguration by August next year.
It may be mentioned that an extradosed bridge employs a structure that combines the main elements of both a pre-stressed box girder bridge and a cable-stayed bridge.
The bridge is being constructed under the 'Assam Bridge Project of the state's Public Works Department (PWD) by SP Singla Constructions Pvt Ltd of Haryana on engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) mode. The total cost of the bridge is Rs 2,608.68 crore, while the funding agency is the New Development Bank (NDB). The main portion of the bridge will be 1.24 km long.
All the six foundations (span) of the bridge on the Brahmaputra have been already completed. Work is now in progress for the sub-structure with the involvement of 1,200 engineers, overseers and workers.
According to PWD sources, once completed it will India's longest extradosed bridge. The distance between each of the six foundations is 200 metres and the foundations are embedded 56 metres under the riverbed.
The sources said that for the first time in India, friction pendulum bearing technology is being used on the bridge to mitigate the risk posed by earthquakes, in view of the fact that Assam falls in the Earthquake-5 zone.
The design of the bridge has been made as per Indian Road Congress guidelines to ensure that it lasts for at least 100 years, the sources informed.
In addition to the main bridge, a 1.20 km flyover is also being constructed along the riverbank from near the Bhootnath cremation ground up to the ITA Machkhowa area. The flyover and the bridge will get connected near the Machkhowa area in a Y-shape.
The work order for construction of the bridge was awarded to SP Singla Constructions Pvt Ltd on August 14, 2019 and deadline for completion deadline was 48 months, i.e., by mid August, 2023. The foundation stone of the bridge was laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in February, 2019.
A six-lane road is being constructed from the termination point of the bridge in North Guwahati which will reach the National Highway at Gauripur in the Kamrup district, the sources said.
PWD officials estimate that once the bridge becomes functional, it will take just 10 minutes to travel between Guwahati and Gauripur. It takes over an hour now to cover this distance. The bridge will also serve to reduce the traffic snarls in areas such as Jalukbari, Maligaon and Adabari. The bridge will benefit not just Guwahati, but the entire north Assam as well, the sources said.
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