NH 15
Baihata–Tezu Highway (Assam north bank)
Also known as National Highway 52 (old numbering) and North Bank Highway
646 km
Open
2 states
National Highway
Route
NH 15 runs 646 km from Tezu, Arunachal Pradesh to Baihata, Assam.
Crosses Arunachal Pradesh and Assam.
Through Tezu, Tengapani, Tinsukia, Dibrugarh, Kulajan, North Lakhimpur, Gohpur, Bishwanath Charaili, Tezpur, Mangaldoi and Baihata.
Why it matters
The north bank of the Brahmaputra holds several million people and was for decades cut off by the river itself. This highway, with the Bogibeel Bridge in the middle of it, is what connects them — and it is a strategic route to the eastern border.
History
National Highway 15 is the main road along the north bank of the Brahmaputra, running from near Guwahati at Baihata Chariali east through Tezpur, North Lakhimpur and Dhemaji, crossing the river at Bogibeel and continuing through Dibrugarh and Tinsukia to Tezu in Arunachal Pradesh. For most of Assam's history the north bank was the poor relation: the railways and the main highway ran along the south bank, and reaching the north bank meant a ferry. The Bogibeel Bridge, opened in 2018, changed that — it is India's longest rail-and-road bridge and it stitched the two banks of upper Assam together.
Good to know
- Runs along the north bank of the Brahmaputra, the side of Assam that was hardest to reach.
- Crosses the river on the Bogibeel Bridge, at 4.94 km India's longest combined rail and road bridge.
- Used to be numbered NH 52 before the 2010 renumbering.
- It is the road to Kaziranga's northern approaches and to the Arunachal foothills.
- At Tezu it reaches the far east of Arunachal Pradesh, close to the Lohit valley.
- It carries most of the army traffic supplying the eastern stretch of the border with China.
Engineering highlights
- Bogibeel Bridge — 4.94 km across the Brahmaputra near Dibrugarh — India's longest rail-cum-road bridge, opened in 2018
On the road
A long drive with few big towns. The Brahmaputra floods every monsoon and low-lying sections near Dhemaji and Lakhimpur can go under water. Fuel and food stops are sparse east of North Lakhimpur.
More details
- Lanes
- 2–4 lanes