The Government of India has recommended a 15.6km twin-tunnel under the mighty Brahmaputra river the length will be 15.6km, which will help lessen the journey time between Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.
Below the river bed
In a news article published on a national daily, for a steady flow of traffic, each of the two tunnels will have two lanes and will be constructed 22 meters below the river bed.
However, the entire distance of the project will be nearly 33 km, comprising the 15.6 km tunnel and 18 km approach roads that will connect to the highway.
The plan has been approved by the Directorate of Military Organisations and will be finalized within two years as soon as work on the proposed project begins.
Estimated cost
Well, the greatly talked about twin-tunnel project is estimated to cost around Rs 12,807 crore. However, it is a greenfield alignment to give a direct link in Assam between Gohpur on NH-52 and Numaligarh on NH-37.
The link is a portion of the 315 km long NH-37 that attaches Nagaon to Dibrugarh. This will enable it to bypass the Kaziranga belt that falls on this highway stretch.
The program will be financed entirely by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, revealed through the article from the national daily.
Draft made for the project
On September 1, At a conference chaired by Road Secretary Giridhar Armane, NHIDCL was directed to make ready a draft note for the Cabinet Committee on Security after getting the project approved by the Ministry of Defence.
If the decks are opened for the plan, accordingly this will be the 2nd twin tunnel in India after Delhi’s “Riddhi and Siddhi” at Dabri Mor Station.
