The Bogibeel rail / road bridge is being built across the River Brahmaputra in the Dibrugarh district, in the state of Assam in north-east India. The 4.94km bridge is one of the longest river bridges in the country.
The rail-road bridge is being undertaken by the Northeast Frontier Railway, which is a part of Indian Railways. The work on the project began in 2002 and was expected to be completed in seven years. But the bridge project experienced significant time and cost overruns before its construction gained momentum in July 2014.
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The project is now scheduled to be completed by March 2018. The originally estimated cost of Rs16.7bn (approximately $312m) increased to Rs49.96bn ($810m) by March 2014. Approximately Rs30.41bn had been spent on the project until 2014.
Bogibeel bridge location
The bridge is located 17km downstream of the town of Dibrugarh. It will connect Dibrugarh in the south to Lakhimpur in the north. The River Brahmaputra runs to the north of Dibrugarh and spans 10km.
The rail-road bridge is the fourth being built on the river, the others being Pandu Saraighat, Kolia-Bjumuraguri and Naranarayan Setu at Jogighopa, all of them in Assam. The Bogibeel Bridge is the longest structure being built on the River Brahmaputra and will be the country’s fourth-largest bridge.
Dibrugarh district rail-road bridge project
The rail-road bridge is a double-deck bridge with a two-line railway track on the lower deck and a three-lane road on the upper. The road level will be 10.5m above the railway line.
The rail project comprises the laying of 74km of railway line, including the rail links on the south and north banks of the river. The rail line will be linked to Chowalkhowa, which is 5.83km from Dibrugarh, on the south bank and between Sisi Borgaon and Sirpani on the north bank.
The work on the railway line is being undertaken by Northeast Frontier Railway.
The road project includes the construction of 29.45km of road to be undertaken by the Assam Public Works Department (PWD). Approximately Rs30.87bn ($576m) worth of works are being executed by the Northeast Frontier Railway while Rs2.91bn ($54m) worth of works are being undertaken by Assam PWD.
River Brahmaputra bridge design and construction
The Bogibeel Bridge is a welded-steel-truss-and-reinforced-concrete structure. It spans 125m and has strong box-type built-in sections. The bridge is supported on well foundations and 42 piers. The project obtained approval of the federal Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) in September 1997 and construction began in April 2002.
Major earthworks and strengthening of the north and south dykes were completed by June 2011. As of mid-2017, the well foundations and girders were completed. The project requires about 505ha of land, which was acquired across 19 villages.
Bogibeel rail link infrastructure
A new station, New Dibrugarh Rail Station, was constructed at Boiragimoth Kachari village in Dibrugarh. The station is the biggest in the region.
The rail link also has a station at Chowalkhowa. It is being proposed to connect the rail line to Moranhat railway station, on the south bank.
Contractors involved in the Bogibeel rail-road bridge in Indian state of Assam
The state-owned consultancy and project management enterprise Rites (Rail India Technical and Engineering Services) undertook the pre-construction studies, geo-technical investigations and detailed design of the rail-road bridge. Top-Notch Engineers was involved in the design and drawings of the bridge.
The well foundations and substructure of the bridge are being constructed by Gammon India under an Rs3.44bn ($64.62m) contract.
Assam-based Bhartia Infra Projects supplied aggregates for the bridge under an Rs540m ($10m) sub-contract from Gammon India.
Essar steel was contracted to supply 20,000t of steel for the bridge project.
Bhartia Infra constructed the guide bunds and approach embankments on the south bank of the bridge. A joint venture of Hindustan Construction Company (HCC), Germany-based DSD Brouckenbau and VNR Infrastructures builds the superstructure of the bridge under an Rs9.87bn ($185m) contract awarded in November 2011.
