The collapse of a 63-year-old bridge on one of Assam’s most critical highways in the early hours of March 27, 2026, has prompted Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi to write to Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari, seeking urgent intervention and immediate restoration of connectivity. Apart from “swift restoration of connectivity,” Gogoi called for a review of “existing maintenance and monitoring mechanisms,” and “stronger safeguards to prevent such incidents in the future.” Notably, the Gammon Bridge over the Dikhow River in Sivasagar district, which carries traffic on National Highway 37, collapsed while repair work was already underway. In his letter, Gogoi argued that the incident “underscores the need for a more proactive and preventive approach to infrastructure management, particularly in regions where connectivity is vital for economic stability,” and urged Gadkari’s “personal intervention to ensure swift action.”
Authorities had identified signs of structural weakness nearly a month before the incident, when the middle section of the bridge had visibly sagged, prompting restrictions on heavy vehicles. Those restrictions, it turned out, were not enough.
Gogoi also stressed that “structural fatigue and visible distress had reportedly been identified nearly a month ago, yet the preventive measures undertaken did not avert this collapse” — a sequence of events he described as raising “serious concerns about infrastructure safety” and “the timeliness of intervention by the concerned authorities.”
In a social media post on Sunday, the Congress leader stated that the collapse of the Gammon Bridge over the Dikhow river in Sivasagar has crippled NH-37, the lifeline of Upper Assam. What is indefensible is this: the bridge had already shown signs of structural distress. Warnings existed. Yet, the system failed to act in time. “This is the reality of Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s headline-driven governance – grand announcements, but neglect of basic infrastructure on the ground,” he stated. Built in 1963, the Gammon Bridge had served as a vital link for over six decades before its collapse reignited questions about the condition of ageing infrastructure across the north-east.