India is planning to build a giant bridge across the Brahmaputra

The Indian government is constructing a new bridge between the states of Assam and Meghalaya — set to be the longest river bridge in the country by 2026

The four-lane bridge over the Brahmaputra river will shorten the distance between the cities of Dhubri and Phulbari by 203 kilometers, and also save commuters two and-a-half hours in travel time.

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways along with National Highways and Industrial Development Corporation Limited (NICL) has been preparing plans to iron out the details of the project.

The government has approached many global players to bid for the project, according to recent media reports. A Japanese funding agency, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has agreed to fund the project. The project is likely to be completed by 2026-27.

People currently have very limited options to travel between Assam and Meghalaya. They either have to take small boats, which take at least two and-a-half hours to reach the destination, or they have to take a long route of 100 kilometers before the Naranarayan bridge. The proposed project aims to shorten the travel time to only 20 minutes.

Currently, the 9.15 km stretched river bridge between Dhola and Sadiya in Assam is the longest bridge in India. Interestingly, The Dhola-Sadiya bridge cut 5 hours of travel time for people traveling from Assam to Roing in Arunachal Pradesh.