From the archive record
Vidyasagar Setu, also known as the Second Hooghly Bridge , is a toll bridge over the Hooghly River in West Bengal, India, linking the cities of Kolkata (previously known as Calcutta) and Howrah. With a total length of 823 metres (2,700 ft), Vidyasagar Setu is the longest cable--stayed bridge in India and one of the longest in Asia. It was the second bridge to be built across the Hooghly River; the first, the Howrah Bridge (also known as Rabindra Setu) 3.7 kilometres (2.3 mi) to the north, was completed in 1943. Named after the educationist reformer Pandit Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, it cost Indian Rupees 3.88 billion to build. Construction began on 3 July 1979, and the bridge was commissioned on 10 October 1992 by the Hooghly River Bridge Commission. The project was a joint effort between t