• The design of the superstructure has been done by a Singapore based company, Wiecon Co Ltd.
• The total length of the bridge will be 1,600 metres measured from south to north bank.
• 15.8 metres wide elevated corridor connecting Santipur and Machkhowa.
• The complete project with an estimated budget of Rs 2,608 crores is the largest project ever undertaken by PWD.
• The bridge is to be of international standards.
• DPR re-designed; no trees to be mowed down.
• MG Road to become one-way on Machkhowa to Santipur stretch
The construction of the proposed bridge over Brahmaputra River connecting its north bank to its south within the city premises is to be started from 25th February. The first test pile of the mega structure would be done on that day in the probable presence of chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal who has given his tentative approval to his presence on the occasion.
As per reports, soil testing on the southern bank has been completed and sample of soil from the middle of the river is being undertaken. PWD officials informed that the samples are being sent to Delhi as there is no laboratory in Assam certified by National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL), as mentioned in the contract.
As per the project agreement, the project is to be completed by 13th August, 2023.
The design of the superstructure has been done by a Singapore based company, Wiecon Co Ltd as per international standards and proof checked by Alok Bhowmick, an authority on structural engineering.
The total length of the bridge will be 1,600 metres measured from south to north bank, of which 1,240 meters will be designed as a multi-span extra-dosed bridge with individual span length of 200 metres between consecutive pylons, the longest in the country. The bridge is to have five main spans on the river.
Engineers in charge of the project informed that the bridge would be of international standards and the concrete to be used is to be infused with blast furnace fly ash and corrosion inhibitors for longer durability of the steel.
The complete project with an estimated budget of Rs 2,608 crores is the largest project ever undertaken by PWD. The project is to be financed mostly by the BRICS New Development Bank (NDB).
The super-structure will start as a six-lane bridge at the northern bank and would diverge at a Y-arm at the southern bank to two three-lane ways, one connecting the main road at Santipur opposite Swagat Hospital, and the other end at Azan Pir Park in Machkhowa. Both these ends are to be further connected by an elevated corridor of 15.8 metres wide (1.24 kms main bridge), parallel to the already existing Mahatma Gandhi Road. The PWD has also proposed the construction of two rotaries at both these points.
The six-lane road is to extend up to Gauripur, increasing the total length of the project to around 6.2 kilometers. The width of the bridge will be 33 metres. Also a rail over-bridge is to be constructed near Gauripur over the existing railway track.
The contract for the construction of the complete project has been awarded to SP Singla Construction Pvt Ltd of Haryana.
No trees to be cut for Guwahati-North Guwahati Bridge
The Guwahati to North Guwahati Bridge that had earlier proposed cutting down of around 250 trees at its vantage point in Bharalumukh will now be built without cutting down any trees.
G Plus had earlier reported that the Detailed Project Report (DPR) finalized by the Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) had proposed the cutting down of as many as 250 age-old trees located along the riverbank starting from Azan Pir Park to Kalipur.
In this regard, a co-ordination committee – Citizens’ Co-ordination Committee, was formed by the citizens of the city, and residents including senior citizens and children formed a human chain on November 10 last demanding redesign of the proposed bridge in order to protect the trees.
After failing to get any positive response from the state government, the committee, on November 18, called in Padma Shri Jadav Payeng, famously known as the “Forest Man of India” to represent the trees which have been giving a breather to the city for decades.
G Plus had done a detailed report of the same on November 16 under the headline "Killer Bridge: The project that will destroy more than 250 trees in South Guwahati" as well as on November 23 under "Jadav Payeng bats for Guwahati’s ill-fated trees."
Subsequently, the DPR was re-designed and the said bridge has been moved back around 15 metres towards the river so that now the tress would not have to be chopped down.
Although a few of the trees in the Ajan Pir Park, where one end of the southern part will be located, might have to be mowed down, the forest department has not given a final number yet.
Talking to G Plus, Assistant Executive Engineer of PWD and the contractor in charge of the project presented the new DPR and confirmed the news.
New bridge to ease traffic congestion in Machkhowa-Santipur stretch
The new state-of-the-art bridge would help to ease traffic congestion along the Machkhowa to Santipur area as the Mahatma Gandhi Road would be converted to one-way at that particular stretch.
Vehicles travelling from Panbazar towards Maligoan will have to take the MG Road while the traffic moving from Bhootnath towards Panbazar will have to take the elevated corridor (bridge) along the Y-arm of the bridge.
A temporary PWD office is to be constructed at the northern bank with a finance of over Rs 2 crores inclusive in the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contract. Also VIP conference rooms and labour and staff accommodation rooms are to be constructed at the southern bank and will remain till the completion of the project.
