Diffo Bridge

Diffo Bridge is a pre-stressed concrete box girder bridge over the Diffo river (Chipu river)^[3] in Arunachal Pradesh, India. This 426.60 metres (1,399.6 ft) long bridge was inaugurated in 2019 by the Union Defense Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.^[2][4]

Diffo Bridge
Carries	2 road lanes [1]
Crosses	Diffo river (Chimpu river)
Locale	Tezu and Roing
Maintained by	Border Road Organization
Characteristics
Design	Pre-stressed concrete box girder bridge
Material	Concrete
Total length	426.60 m (1,399.6 ft)
History
Constructed by	Border Road Organization
Construction start	2011 (2011)[2]
Construction end	2019 (2019)[2]
Opened	18 Jan 2019; 6 years ago (18 Jan 2019)[2]
Statistics
Toll	Free both ways

Construction

The construction started in 2011^[4] by Border Roads Organisation under Project Udayak.^[4] It was built for an estimated cost of ₹4,847.83 lakh (US$5.7 million), which was funded by the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.^[2] Tough working conditions in an inhospitable terrain facing turbulent flash floods, made construction difficult. It was completed in 8 years.^[2] The bridge was inaugurated by the Union Defense Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on 18 January 2019.^[2]

Significance

Earlier, Indian Defense Forces had laid the Bailey bridge over the Diffo River. It was a temporary structure that had to be closed during most rains.^[5] The new bridge provides uninterrupted access between Dibang Valley and Lohit valley of Eastern Arunachal Pradesh on Roing-Koron-Paya Road.^[4] Lohit valley is the corridor that leads to Kibithu, the battleground of the 1962 Indo-Sino war and Lower Dibang Valley leads to the Anini front of border with China.^[5] The bridge reduced traveling time between Tezu and Roing (district headquarters of Lohit Valley and Lower Dibang Valley respectively) from 3 hours to 45 minutes. During a monsoon, the old route took travelers through Assam.^[5] Strategically, it provides an all-weather route for troops deployed on the China border (the McMahon line).^[6]