The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) has opened a new bridge for traffic in the Indian city of North Sikkim.

The bridge is located over Teesta River in Munshithang near Chungthang town and built under Project Swastik.

It has been constructed by the 86 Road Construction Company (RCC) of 758 Border Roads Task Force (BRTF).

Construction of the 360ft-long bailey suspension bridge commenced in October last year and concluded in January.

The infrastructure development project also included laying approach roads to the bridge.

These roads were also opened for traffic on 21 March.

The Teesta River bridge will help local residents in the region to cross the river, while also boosting tourism prospects. It will facilitate the movement of logistics for the Indian Armed Forces deployed in nearby areas.

The newly constructed bridge has replaced a steel bridge of 180ft span at the same location. Last June, the steel bridge was completely damaged due to severe weather conditions.

Following that, connectivity across the river was maintained by routing the traffic through restricted army land.

The government’s 2018-23 Long Term Roll on Works Plan focuses on the development and construction of road infrastructure on the Northern and North-Eastern Borders.

Under the five-year plan, 265 roads of total length 14,224.12km, four Ditch-cum-Bund (DCB) of total length 353.22km and four bridges are included, reported The New Indian Express.

Out of them, Sikkim has 18, with a cumulative length of 601.18km.