Bogibeel world’s longest incremental steel bridge

New Delhi, December 25

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India’s longest rail-cum-road Bogibeel bridge, inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday, is not only the country’s first fully-welded steel bridge but the world’s longest incrementally launched steel bridge, infrastructure major HCC said.

The Prime Minister inaugurated the 4.94-km-long double-decker strategic bridge, built by HCC, over the Brahmaputra at Bogibeel near Dibrugarh in Assam.

With the width ranging from 1.2 km to 18 km, the Brahmaputra has been bridged only four times in the past, and HCC holds the distinction of building two of these bridges and has now constructed the fifth, the company said in a statement.

The bridge will provide connectivity to nearly 50 lakh people residing in upper Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.

HCC said the project boasts of multiple benefits such as strategic and speedier access for defence forces to the India-China border, seamless access for medical facilities to remote north-eastern states and most importantly, reducing by nearly 10 hours the transportation distance between NH-37 and NH-52, saving transportation cost, time and fuel.

“Not only has an incremental launching technique for superstructure erection been used for the first time in India, it is also the world’s longest incrementally launched steel bridge,” HCC CEO Arjun Dhawan said.

The company said its team through sheer determination and grit completed this project as bridging the mighty Brahmaputra has always been a daunting task. It said the superstructure of the Bogibeel bridge has been constructed using special copper-bearing steel plates to reduce corrosion. Furthermore, due to excessive humidity in the area, a complex Corrosion Protection System specific to different components of the bridge has been implemented, it added.

To offer stability to the heavy spans (1700 MT), seismic restrainers are provided. The bridge is designed to withstand earthquakes with magnitudes in excess of 7, the company said. — PTI

Construction marvel 

• 4.94-km  length of the bridge, built over the Brahmaputra 
• 50 lakh  people of Arunachal Pradesh and upper Assam to benefit
• 10 hrs travel duration cut between NH-37 and NH-52