Longest Bridge in India | Largest Bridge in India

A bridge refers to a structure that is built to cross a physical obstacle such as a water body like lake, river or valley, abyss, gulf, etc. It provides the passage over the obstacle for people, vehicles, etc. It is almost not possible to cross such obstacles without making a bridge or without following a different longest route. A bridge can be of different types depending on the function of the bridge and nature of the terrain and the required strength. There are many large bridges above water and railway bridges in India. Some of the largest bridges in India are listed below:

1) Dhola Sadiya Bridge (9.15 km)

Dhola Sadiya Bridge is a beam bridge, which is also known as Bhupen Hazarika Setu. Its length is 9.15 km that makes it the longest bridge over water in India. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated this bridge.

It is built above Lohit River, a Brahmaputra River's tributary. It connects Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, which has reduced the distance between these states by 165 km and travel-time by around 5 hours.

It is a strongly-built bridge that is designed keeping in mind the defence requirements of India. It can easily handle the weight of heavy tanks such as Arjun tank and T-72 tanks. So, it has also improved the defence capabilities of the north-east part of country. This region is prone to the high seismic activity so the bridge has seismic buffers in its piers. The cost of constructing the dhola sadiya bridge is Rs 2056 crore.

2) Dibang River Bridge (6.2 km), Arunachal Pradesh

Dibang River Bridge is the second-longest road bridge in India with a length of 6.2 km. It is a car-traffic bridge which is also known as the Sikang Bridge and sometimes referred to as 'Sisseri River Bridge.' It is built over the Dibang River in Arunachal Pradesh.

Its construction was completed in 2018 as part of NH13 Trans-Arunachal Highway. It connects Meka with Bomji in Lower Dibang Valley in Arunachal Pradesh. The people of Meka, Bomji and Dambuk are connected to other parts of the state by this bridge.

It is an important bridge which allows the Indian army to reach the China border in a short duration of time. Thus, it helps to fight anti-national activities and threat due to the Chinese army nearby Line of Actual Control.

3) Mahatma Gandhi Setu (5.7 km), Bihar

Mahatma Gandhi Setu is a car-traffic and beam type of bridge. It is the third-longest river bridge built over the sacred river Ganges in India whose length is 5.7 km, breadth is 25 meters and is located in Patna, Bihar. It is also known as the Gandhi Setu and Ganga Setu.

In 1972, its construction was started, completed in 1982 and was constructed by 'Gammon India Limited.' It was inaugurated in 1982 by the then prime minister of India Indira Gandhi. The bridge is supported by 45 piers that are 121 meters in height so the ships can easily pass below the bridge. It connects Patna to the Hajipur (south and north regions of Bihar). It has four lanes of roadways and a two pedestrian pathway, one on each side of the bridge.

As of now, it is over 40 years old and experiencing traffic congestion due to more vehicles. Around 85000 vehicles and 12000 pedestrians use this bridge on a daily basis. It is also a famous tourist attraction in the state.

4) Bandra Worli Sea Link (5.6 km), Mumbai

Bandra Worli Sea Link is also known as Rajiv Gandhi Sea Link. It is the fourth-longest bridge in India that is built over Mahim Bay. It is a car-traffic & cable-stayed bridge that links Bandra with Worli in Mumbai. It is the first eight-lane, cable-stayed bridge over the sea in India. Its construction was started in 2000 and completed in 2010. It is designed by Seshadri Srinivas and around 90000 tons of cement was used in constructing the Bandra Worli sea link.

The bridge is provided with concrete-steel viaducts on its sides to strengthen its base. It is an excellent example of brilliant engineering work that used seismic arresters to make the bridge capable of bearing earthquakes of up to 7.0 on the Richter scale.

It is a cable-stayed bridge whose length is 5.6 km and width is 40 meters. Hindustan Construction Company has made this bridge, however, it is owned by MSRDC (Maharashtra state road Development Corporation). The foundation stone for the bridge was laid down by Bal Thackeray in 1991 and was opened for the public on 30 June 2009.

The vehicles are required to pay the toll to cross the bridge, so traffic is usually not high on this bridge. It has reduced the travel time from 30 minutes to 10 minutes. It looks very attractive when the lights are lit up at night and remains open throughout the week for 24 hours. It is a combination of natural beauty and man-made marvel and offers a mesmerizing view of the city of Mumbai.

5) Bogibeel Bridge (4.94 km), Assam

Bogibeel Bridge is a rail-cum-road bridge that is built over Brahmaputra River at Dibrugarh district in Assam. Its length is 4.94 km that makes it the longest rail-cum-road bridge in India. HCC has built this bridge with two broad-gauge lines in the lower deck, whereas, the upper deck has a three-lane road bridge. Besides this, to reduce corrosion special copper-bearing steel plates are used in the bridge and to withstand earthquakes, it has seismic restrainers.

Bogibeel Bridge is the first fully-welded steel bridge in India. Its foundation was laid down by Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 2002 and its construction was completed in 21 years. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated this bridge on 25 December 2018.

It links the Dibrugarh in Assam with Pasighat in Arunachal Pradesh that has reduced the travel time to four hours and provided a separate short path for people of Dhemaji to major hospitals, education institutes, Dibrugarh airport, etc. Furthermore, it offers vital logistical support for the Indian Army as it can withstand the movement of heavy tanks and can allow fighter jets to land.

6) Vikramshila Setu (4.7 km), Bihar

Vikramshila Setu is a bridge that is built over the river Ganges near Bhagalpur, Bihar. It is a 4.7 km long bridge that connects NH 80 and NH 31 situated on the opposite banks of the Ganges. It got its name from the ancient Mahavihara of Vikramashila that was founded by King Dharmapala.

It is the second-largest bridge in Bihar that starts from Barari Ghat on the south bank of the Ganges and ends at the Naugachia on the north bank. In India, it is the 5^th longest bridge built over water.

Vikramshila has reduced the travel time considerably between Bhagalpur and places located across the Ganges. However, it is experiencing high traffic, so the govt. has planned to construct a new bridge parallel to it. So, on 21 Sept. 2020, Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation of another bridge parallel to Vikramshila Bridge.

7) Vembanad Rail Bridge (4.6 km), Kerala

Vembanad Rail Bridge is a rail bridge that connects Edappally and Vallarpadam situated in the Kochi city of Kerala. Its length is 4.6 km that makes it the second-longest railway bridge in India. It is famous for its scenic beauty that includes backwaters and a famous tourist spot, Kumarakom.

Vembanad Rail Bridge was constructed by Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd over the Vembanad Lake and passes through three small islands. In June 2007, its construction began, completed in March 2010 and was inaugurated in February 2011. It is used for only good carrying trains and around 15 trains cross this bridge in a day. The cost of constructing this bridge was around 200 crores and it was built in a short period of time of 28 months.

8) Digha Sonpur Bridge (4.5 km), Bihar

Digha Sonpur Bridge, which is also known as J.P Setu, is a rail road bridge built across river Ganges. It connects Digha Ghat in Patna with Pahleja Ghat in Sonpur or we can say that the northern region with the southern region of Bihar.

The foundation stone ceremony of this bridge took place in 1966 by the then PM minister H.D. Deve Gowda. However, the construction was started in 2003 under the supervision of Railway Nitish Kumar.

It is a steel truss bridge with a total length of 4.55 km and was inaugurated or opened to regular passenger rail service on 03 February 2016. Besides this, there are two railway stations one at each corner of the bridge; Patilputra Junction railway station (PPTa) and Bharpura Pahleja Ghat Junction railway station (PHLG).

9) Arrah Chhapra Bridge (4.3 km), Bihar

Arrah Chhapra Bridge is also known as Veer Kunwar Singh Setu. It is an extradosed bridge built over the river Ganges and connects Arrah and Chapra of Bihar. Its length is 4.3 km and the width is 24 meters that have reduced the travelling distance between Chapra and Arrah from 130 km to 40 km.

The foundation stone for this bridge was laid down by the famous politician Nitish Kumar in July 2010. It was opened for public on 11 June 2017 and is the 9^th longest bridge above water in India as of Sept. 2020. Using this bridge, the travellers can go from South to North regions of Bihar without visiting Patna. The NH-19 at Doriganj in Chhapra is connected to NH-30 in Arrah by this four-lane bridge.

10) Godavari Bridge (4.1 km)

Godavari Bridge is also known as Kovvur-Rajahmundry Bridge. It is a truss bridge that is built over Godavari River in Rajahmundry, India. It is the third-longest road-cum-rail bridge over water in India.

The length of the Godavari Bridge is 4.1 km long. It has a single-track rail deck above which it has a road deck. Its construction started in the 1970s and was inaugurated in 1974 by the Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed (president of India at that time). There are also three sister bridges constructed at this site that include Old Godavari Bridge, Godavari Arch Bridge and Fourth Godavari Bridge.

11) Munger Ganga Bridge (3.7 km), Bihar

Munger Ganga Bridge is a rail-cum-road bridge that is built over the water of river Ganges. It is located at district Munger in Bihar. Its length is 3.7 km and it is a two-lane road and single railway track. Its construction began in 2002 after Atal Bihari Vajpayee laid down the foundation stone. The construction of the Munger Ganga Bridge was completed in 2016.

It is named after the famous freedom fighter and first chief minister of Bihar Dr. Srikrishna Sinha. It connects Munger district to other districts in the northern region of Bihar. In other words, it is a link between NH80 on the southern side of Ganges and NH 31 on the north side of Ganges.

12) Chahlari Ghat Bridge (3.2 km), Uttar Pradesh

Chahlari Ghat Bridge is also known as the Chahlari Ghat Setu. It is built over the Ghaghra River and connects Bahraich in the east to Sitapur in the west of Uttar Pradesh.

Its length is 3.2 km that makes it the longest road bridge over the river in Uttar Pradesh. The foundation stone of this bridge was laid down by PWD Minister UP, Shivpal Singh Yadav in 2006. Its construction was completed in 2017 and it was inaugurated by Akhilesh Yadav (UP's CM at that time).

13) Nehru Setu (3.1 km), Bihar

Nehru Setu is also known as Upper Son Bridge. Its length is 3.1 km and is built across the Son River in Bihar. It connects Son Nagar with Dehri-on-Son. It is one of the oldest bridges of in India and was opened for traffic on 27 February in 1900 by the British govt. In that time, it was the longest bridge in India.

Nehru Setu was built using stone and steel following a primitive style architecture that is still capable of withstanding traffic and the effect of weather. The steel girders of the bridge rest on 93 pillars. There is also one more bridge named Jawahar Setu that runs parallel to the Nehru setu.

14) Jawahar Setu (3.06 km), Bihar

Jawahar Setu is also constructed over Son River. Its length is 3.06 km and is located in Dehri, Bihar. Jawahar Setu is a road bridge that is a part of the NH 2 and connects Dehri-on-Son and Son Nagar in the state of Bihar.

It was built by Gammon India Ltd in 1963 -65 and it got its name from the first prime minister of India. Besides this, Shantaram S. Kashyap, an engineer, has designed and completed it in 1963.

15) Kolia Bhomora Setu (3 km), Assam

Kolia Bhomora Setu is a pre-stressed concrete road bridge that is built over the Brahmaputra River in Assam, India. It got its name from Ahom General Kolia Bhomora Phukan.

The length of Kolia Bhomora Bridge is 3000 meters that connects Sonitpur with Nagaon or NH 52 and NH 37. It got its name from the Ahom General Kolia Bhomora Phukan. The construction of the bridge started from 1981 continued till 1987 and was inaugurated by Rajiv Gandhi, the PM of India at that time. The Hindustan Construction Company has built this bridge.

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