With repair work starting on the old Saraighat Bridge over the Brahmaputra, all vehicular movement will be completely suspended from July 13. During this period, two-way traffic will run only via the new Saraighat Bridge, the Guwahati Traffic Police said.
The repair and rehabilitation work of the old bridge under Northeast Frontier Railway will continue for nearly two months. Because of this, it has been decided to completely close the bridge to all types of vehicular traffic from 5 AM on July 13.
Under the new arrangement, heavy goods vehicles traveling from Lower Assam to Upper Assam have been directed to ply via the Baihati Chariali–Kolia Bhomora Bridge route. However, passenger buses are exempt from this restriction.
Meanwhile, the movement of commercial goods vehicles entering or exiting Guwahati via the new Saraighat Bridge will be restricted from 6 AM to 10 PM.
Light vehicles traveling from Lower Assam to Upper Assam via Guwahati will also have to use the new Saraighat Bridge from now on. Vehicles heading from Guwahati towards Kamrup and Lower Assam will also have to use the new bridge.
The Traffic Police further informed that drivers traveling from Lower Assam to Upper Assam can avoid some congestion by using the Kumar Bhaskar Bora Bridge as an alternate route.
On the other hand, passengers traveling to Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport have been urged to start their journey well in advance keeping possible traffic jams in mind.
Vehicle parking on both sides of the road between Jalukbari and Saraighat Bridge will be completely prohibited during the entire repair period. However, passenger buses, ambulances, fire service vehicles and other emergency service vehicles along with other light vehicles will continue to ply via the new Saraighat Bridge.
These special traffic regulations will remain in effect until July 31. New guidelines will be issued after reviewing the situation further, the Guwahati Traffic Police said.
