Bogibeel Rail Bridge, India

The Bogibeel rail / road bridge is being built across the River Brahmaputra in the Dibrugarh district, in the state of Assam in northeast 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 it has experienced time and cost overruns.

The project is now scheduled to be completed by the end of 2015. The originally estimated cost of INR16.7bn (approximately $312m) shot up to INR33.78bn ($630m) by 2011. Until 2011, INR20.30bn ($378m) had been spent on the project.

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 is very wide, spanning 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.

Dibrugarh district rail-road bridge project

The Bogibeel 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 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 construction of 29.45km of road to be undertaken by the Assam Public Works Department (PWD). About INR30.87bn ($576m) worth of works are being executed by the Northeast Frontier Railway while INR2.91bn ($54m) 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 got the 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 the end of 2011, 13 well foundations on the south bank and 11 well foundations on the north bank are in progress for the main bridge.

The south and north bank rail links are scheduled to be completed by the end of 2013. About 44km of the south bank link was opened in 2010.The project requires about 505ha of land, which has been acquired across 19 villages.

Bogibeel rail link infrastructure

A new station, New Dibrugarh Rail Station, is being planned for construction at Boiragimoth Kachari village in Dibrugarh. The station is expected to be the biggest in the region.

The rail link also has a station at Chowalkhowa. It is being proposed to connect the Bogibeel 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) has undertaken the pre-construction studies 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 INR3.44bn ($64.62m) contract.

Assam-based Bharatia Infra Projects has supplied aggregates for the bridge under an INR540m ($10m) sub-contract from Gammon India.

Bharatia Infra has 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 will build the superstructure of the bridge under an INR9.87bn ($185m) contract awarded in November 2011.

The superstructure is planned to be completed in 48 months. HCC holds a 51% stake in the JV while DSD owns 20% and VNR 29%. One of the other important projects of HCC in India is the Bandra Worli Sea Link in Mumbai.