(This story originally appeared in on Sep 26, 2016)

NEW DELHI: The strategic Dhola-Sadiya bridge on Brahmaputra , which will reduce travel time between Assam and Arunachal Pradesh by four hours, is likely to be opened to traffic before next monsoon season. The road ministry has approved compensation to property owners to get the required land for building the 2-kilometre approach road on Sadiya side for the project.Once the Rs 938-crore two-lane project is completed, it will be the longest bridge in Asia and will be crucial for defence purposes also.The bridge is also being strengthened for the passage of army tanks. At present, there is no bridge fortified for passage of tanks around Tinsukia from where troops can cross over to Arunachal Pradesh. Moreover, it will cut time for the armed forces to reach the border in Dibang and Anjaw via Tezpur , which takes two days (about 186 km from Guwahati) now.The bridge connectivity is also important as Arunachal Pradesh does not have a single operational airport and with China building air strips on its side of the LAC it will come as a shot in the arm for the military. "We will complete work in the next seven to eight months," said an official.Prime Minister Narendra Modi had gone through the visual presentation of this project when he participated in the North Eastern Council meeting in Shillong early this year.The Rs 938 crore 2-lane bridge project (25.8 km) had started in November 2010.Construction of this bridge in Assam was approved as a part of Rs 24,000 crore Arunachal Pradesh package to improve road connectivity in the border state.