Port Blair: Union Home Minister Amit Shah, accompanied by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, will visit the Andaman and Nicobar Islands by September-end and inaugurate the longest bridge in the archipelago, the NHIDCL said on Tuesday. The 1.45-km-long Humfrey Strait Bridge connecting South and Middle Andaman between Gandhi and Uttara ferry ghats was constructed by the National Highway Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL) at a cost of Rs 202 crore within two years, its DGM Sunil said.

The Humphrey Strait Creek Bridge that is being rated as the longest bridge in the A&N Islands and lifeline of the people of North & Middle Andaman, was earlier going to be completed by April 2020 but due to the pandemic, the construction got delayed.

The total length of the bridge (including approach road) is 1450m while the width of the bridge is 14.8 metres having a 1.5m (total 3m) pedestrian footpath on both sides. The height of the bridge has been designed in such a way to enable the smaller vessel to pass through underneath the bridge and is 22m from the high tide level.

Despite COVID-induced restrictions, steady progress in the execution of the project was made in the last few months and over 99 percent of the work has been completed, DGM said.

"It is the longest bridge in the Union territory. The trial runs of vehicles will be done in the coming days after which the NHIDCL will announce the completion of the project for its formal launch," the official added.

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