Dhola Sadiya Bridge – The Longest Indian Bridge Over Water

Infrastructures are fascinating and They constantly symbolize more than they are. Such examples abound in infrastructure history. They are important in the process of nation-building, but they also symbolize financial and resource transfers. As a result, they have a ‘developmental’ or ‘people-centric’ cover. 

The Dhola Sadiya Bridge, which was erected across the Lohit River, is a recent example of such infrastructure. The bridge, which spans the Lohit River, is intended to provide a boost to the residents of Sadiya, a subdivision of Tinsukia district, and neighbouring districts of Arunachal Pradesh. It also intends to strengthen the country’s economy, hydropower, and defence. 

After Saraighat, KoliaBhomora, and Bogibeel, this will be the fourth bridge over the Brahmaputra River (nearing completion).

You may learn about the Bhupen Hazarika Setu in full in this article.

Bhupen Hazarika Bridge – the longest river bridge in India

Bhupen Hazarika Setu, also known as Dhola Sadiya Bridge, is one of the longest river bridges in India. The length of this Dhola Sadiya bridge is 9.15 kilometres. i.e., 5.69 miles. The bridge is built over the Lohit River in the Tinsukia region of Assam.

Construction and Architectural Elements of Lohit River Bridge

The bridge has been said to be filled the connectivity gap in this region. But how was it made possible to add the elements that make this bridge withstand the heavyweights? In this section get a gist of the architectural and constructional excellence of the Bhupen Hazarika Setu located in the Assam region of India.

The project of the Dhola Sadiya Pul was a partnership between public-private authorities between the Road Transport and Highways Ministry of India and the Navayuga Construction Company, Visakhapatnam based private construction organization. The length of the Dhola Sadiya Bridge is 9.15 kilometres long. The Bhupen Hazarika project stretch lies in the Tinsukia district of Assam. 

The location where the bridge has been constructed is of high difficulties, such as high seismical force. As per the configuration of the seismic zones, this comes under Zone 5, which has the maximum intensity of getting hit by an earthquake. This area also has a high speed of winds, making it difficult for designing a structure in this region. 

One exception that this region offers is the subsoil with fine sand, making it favourable for the infrastructure. The construction company founded the bridge piers on the piles. Each pier has been supported by four piles. The bridge has been divided into two – The floodplains portion and the proper river portion. The piles in the proper river portion are administered to higher forces than those in the flood plains. 

The superstructure of the Bhupen Hazarika Setu is a segmental box type. High tensile strands have been used to externally post the boxes. For the segment’s pre-casting, long-line casting was adopted. 

Since the magnitude of the Lohit River project was large, the planning had been made to meet the massive demand from the beginning. 

Facts About Dhola Sadiya Bridge

The Bhupen Hazarika bridge holds a lot of importance from a strategic perspective. Here are the 10 facts that you need to know about the Lohit River bridge.

• Sadiya town has been one of the most disadvantageous and isolated ones in the state of Assam. Also, the town lacks connectivity and has transport issues. Moreover, the subdivision of the Tinsukia district is vaulted by the rivers on its three sides – Dibang, Lohit, and Brahmaputra river. With the construction of this new bridge, transportation issues will be resolved in this region of Assam.
• The Dhola Sadiya bridge is 9.15 kilometres long, leaving behind the Bandra-Worli sea link bridge which is 5.6 kilometres long. This river bridge is nearly two-thirds longer than the Bandra-Worli bridge.
• The bridge gave a new life to the Sadiya town of Tinsukia district. Earlier, it was a thriving town. But in the year 1950, an earthquake hit the town on August 15 which changed the course of the Brahmaputra River. The changed course swamped half of the town within a few days. Since then, Sadiya town has been struggling with transportation services.
• It is the fourth bridge on the Brahmaputra River that helps in boosting communication around eastern Arunachal Pradesh. The most crucial beneficiary will be the Indian Army. With the help of the bridge, the convoys get to save up to three to four hours of journey from Assam to the posting ways of Wallong, Kibithoo, and Chaglaglam, located on the Arunachal-China border. Hence, the construction of this river bridge proved to be a strategic boost for the Indian Defence in the northeast region.
• The Bhupen Hazarika bridge was built using state-of-art technology and materials because of the geological vulnerability of the region. Imported hydraulic rigs have been used with the seismic buffers in the 182 piers of the bridge.
• The construction of the bridge began in the year 2011 after careful analysis and feasible study of road transport and highway ministry of India. 
• The original completion date for the Lohit River Bridge was December 2015, but the bridge was completed in the year 2017. The cost was overturned and the completion date was breached for the project.
• The bridge helps in enhancing the Indian Army’s mobilization abilities and movement of their troops. It also enhances the movement of heavy types of equipment in forwarding China bordering areas.
• The bridge is believed to have a weight capacity of a 60-tonne battle tank as of now.
• The Brahmaputra bridge is 540 kilometres away from the capital of Assam, Dispur, and 300 kilometres away from the capital of Arunachal Pradesh, Itanagar. The bridge has made the movement to Dibrugarh airport and Tinsukia railway station faster. 
• The bridge cut the travel time by four to five hours from the Anjaw district to Tinsukia and Dibrugarh. This used to take more than 15 hours before the construction of the bridge.
• Even though transportation and architecture have made an accomplishment in the region, but the livelihood of the people started seeing a downfall after the construction. About 150 boatmen have lost a big share of their earnings because of the Bhupen Hazarika Bridge.      

Bhupen Hazarika Setu – Named After an Indian Singer

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi baptized the longest river bridge of India after Late Indian singer Bhupen Hazarika in the state of Assam. The 9.15 kilometres long bridge connects the Sadiya and Dhola town with the upper regions of Assam. 

On the sixth anniversary of Bhupen Hazarika, the announcement on the name of the bridge was made by the Prime Minister of India and the Chief Minister of Assam. 

Gist on Bhupen Hazarika

Bhupen Hazarika was born in the family of teachers of the Sadiya province of Assam in the year 1926. He is a household name in the northeast region of India. He is also known as ‘Bard of Brahmaputra’ because of his songs like ‘O Ganga Behtio O Kyu’ and ‘Dil Hoom Hoom Kare’. Not only in Assam, with his magic of weaving words, but he also made his name beyond the border of the state. 

He was awarded Padma Vibhushan in the year 2012 and the highest award for civilians, Bharat Ratna in the year 2019.   

In his eminent career, Bhupen Hazarika has pulled on numerous hats. From being a poet, singer, music composer, journalist, filmmaker, actor, and author, he lived every profession whole heartedly. The wanderer took the initiative to take Assam’s rich folk heritage to the world with his beautifully interpreted songs. 

For his contributions and achievements, the longest river bridge of India in history got the name Bhupen Hazarika Bridge. The bridge connects the Dhola and Sadiya town with the upper regions of Assam. Chief Minister of Assam, Sarbananda Sonowal mentioned that appropriate steps by the authorities have been taken so that the name of Bhupen Hazarika is prominently displayed on both ends of the Brahmaputra river bridge. This bridge connects the Boleng birthplace (now in the state of Arunachal Pradesh) and the rest of Assam.  

When was the Bhupen Hazarika Bridge launched?

The construction of this Brahmaputra Setu began in the year and was supposed to be completed in the year 2015. But due to some reasons, it was not completed on time and took a little more than 18 months for completion. The bridge was finally completed in the year 2017. The Bhupen Hazarika Bridge was decisively launched on 26 May 2017. 

Total Cost of the Lohit River Bhupen Hazarika Setu

As being the longest river bridge in the country, the Lohit River, Bhupen Hazarika Setu, a high-ticket budget has been passed by the government. The total cost of constructing the setu bridge is about ₹ 10 billion, i.e, $156 million USD/ 100 Lakhs. 

Who inaugurated Dhola Sadiya Bridge?

Dhola Sadiya bridge holds a lot of importance for both the people of northeast Indian regions and the Indian Army. The construction of the bridge was completed in the span of five years and was inaugurated by Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi and Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari on 26^th May 2017.

Benefits of the Brahmaputra River Setu Infrastructure

The Bhupen Hazarika Bridge has been designed with several factors into consideration. Hence, there are some benefits offered by the longest Dhola Sadiya Pul mentioned below:

• The Dhola Sadiya Pul can withstand 60 tonnes weight of tanks, i.e, 130,000 pounds.
• The bridge is a tactical asset to handle the dispute of the Sino-Indian War’s claim of China on the authority of India on Arunachal Pradesh, both politically and militarily.
• The Indian Army can reach the war posts in the northeast region of India in less time than usual with the construction of Dhola Sadiya Pul.
• The Sadiya town started having better transportation offers.
• The Dhola and Sadiya town is not connected with the other regions of Assam via the Brahmaputra River bridge. 

Dhola Sadiya Bridge Map

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