The project has been approved at a cost of Rs 996.75 crore and the cost will be shared by NHAI and the Ministry of Railways
New Delhi, Sept 28: Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday said the project for a rail-cum-road bridge across Brahmaputra river near the existing Saraighat bridge at Guwahati has been approved.
The project has been approved at a cost of Rs 996.75 crore. The cost will be shared by NHAI and the Ministry of Railways.
In a series of tweets, the Road Transport and Highways minister said the cost of approaches/viaducts is Rs 322 crore, and it will be entirely built by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).
“Furthering PM Shri @narendramodi Ji’s vision of #GatiShakti, The project for Rail-cum-Road Bridge across Brahmaputra river near the existing Saraighat bridge at Guwahati has been approved at the cost of Rs 996.75 Cr,” read Nitin Gadkari’s tweet.
Gadkari said the “bridge would connect north bank of Assam to south bank, that is, Guwahati across Brahmaputra river”.
Once the bridge is completed, it would provide seamless and strategic connectivity across the river, easing the present flow of traffic of more than 75,000 PCUs (Passenger Car Units), he added.
Indian Railways has been working hard to connect Northeast with the rest of the country. Railways have now started working on connecting Northeastern State capitals with Delhi through a rail network by 2024. Minister of State for Railways, Raosaheb Patil Danve, a few months ago mentioned that over 60 percent of work connecting Northeastern States to the national capital is complete, and the remaining 40 percent is believed to be completed by 2024. (With PTI inputs)