Dhola–Sadiya Bridge

The Dhola-Sadiya Bridge, officially known as Bhupen Hazarika Bridge, is a beam bridge connecting the villages of Dhola and Sadiya in Tinsukia district of the Indian state of Assam. The bridge spans the Lohit River, a major tributary of the Brahmaputra, and provides access to certain parts of Arunachal Pradesh that lie to the north and northeast of Assam. The bridge facilitates the first permanent road connection between the northern Assam and eastern Arunachal Pradesh. At in length, it is the second longest bridge in India over water.
With the bridge located close to the India-China border, the bridge is designed to facilitate the movement of Indian Armed Forces to the border state of Arunachal Pradesh. As China has disputed India's claim to Arunachal Pradesh, the bridge is an important tactical asset in the ongoing dispute. The bridge has been designed to handle the weight of main battle tanks of the Indian Army.

Construction

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways started a feasibility study of the project in August 2003. In January 2009, the bridge was approved for construction funded by the Government of India. Construction began in November 2011 as a public-private partnership with Navayuga Engineering, with an expected completion in 2015. However, due to construction delays and cost overruns, the bridge's completion date was pushed into 2017. The project cost around and construction took over five years to complete. The bridge was inaugurated on 26 May 2017 by Indian prime minister Narendra Modi in the presence of Nitin Gadkari, the minister of road transport and highways. The bridge was named after Bhupen Hazarika, an artist and filmmaker from Assam.