Guwahati, December 24: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate India’s longest rail-road bridge over Brahmaputra river at Assam’s Bogibeel on December 25. The 4.94 Km bridge is strategically important especially for the movement of defence along the Chinese border in Arunachal Pradesh in the shortest possible time. The Bogibeel Bridge over river Brahmaputra is situated 17 km downstream of Dibrugarh city in Assam. Currently, students and patients have to cross the river on a boat to come to Dibrugarh as the city has Dibrugarh University and Assam Medical College, besides a dozen other such centres. Signature Bridge Inaugurated by Arvind Kejriwal Amid Chaos: Key Facts to Know About 'Delhi's Eiffel Tower'.

Key Pointers you need to know about Bogibeel Bridge:

1)    The foundation stone of the project was laid by former prime minister H D Deve Gouda on January 22, 1997, while the work was commenced on April 21, 2002, by Atal Bihari-led government.

2)    The total cost of the Bridge is Rs 5,960 crore. However, due to delay in implementation of the project, the cost raised by 85 percent from Rs 3,230.02 crore.

3)    The length of the bridge was extended to 4.94 Km from earlier proposed length of 4.31 Km.

4)    The bridge will give a boost to infrastructure building along the Chinese border in Arunachal Pradesh. Moreover, the bridge will have three landing strips for the Indian Air Force (IAF). Even fighter jets can land on it.

5)    As the distance from Dibrugarh to Rangiya will be reduced by 170 km, Upper Assam and Eastern Arunachal Pradesh will now witness massive socio-economic development.

6)    The road distance from Dibrugarh to Itanagar will be reduced by 150 km and the railway travel distance between these two points will shorten by 705 km.

7)    The bridge will have a serviceable period of 120 years. Mumbai's Carnac Bunder Bridge 'Dilapidated', BMC Asks Central Railway to Demolish It.

8)    The bridge has a two-line railway track on the lower deck and a three-lane road on the top deck.

9)    According to Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) Chief Public Relations Officer Pranav Jyoti Sharma, around 30 lakh bags of cement, 19,250 mt reinforcement steel and 2,800 mt structural steel were used for the construction of the mammoth structure.

10)    The superstructure of the main bridge around 77,000 mt of steel was used.

Last year in May, the Prime Minister also inaugurated the Dhola-Sadiya Bridge, also known as Bhupen Hazarika Setu. This bridge also enhances connectivity of Assam with Arunachal Pradesh. The Dhola-Sadiya Bridge spans the Lohit River, a major tributary of the Brahmaputra River, from the village of Dhola Tinsukia district in the south to Sadiya to the north. The bridge is the first permanent road connection between the northern Assam and eastern Arunachal Pradesh.

(With inputs from PTI)

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 24, 2018 01:55 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).