Guwahati: When floods arrive in Kaziranga, wildlife moves as it has for centuries — rhinos, elephants, deer and carnivores instinctively head towards higher ground in the Karbi Anglong hills. What is new, however, is the presence of high-speed highways cutting across these ancient migration routes.
The proposed elevated animal corridor through Kaziranga National Park represents India’s most ambitious attempt yet to reconcile development with ecological continuity.
Planned as a 34.5-kilometre elevated stretch along National Highway-715, the corridor will allow wildlife to move freely beneath the road, keeping the landscape intact rather than forcing animals to use limited underpasses. Once constructed, it will be among the longest continuous wildlife-friendly elevated roadways in the world, designed specifically for a UNESCO World Heritage Site that hosts globally significant populations of the one-horned rhinoceros, elephants and tigers.
The project moves into a decisive phase on Sunday when Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation stone of the Kaziranga elevated animal corridor, formally kickstarting one of India’s most closely watched wildlife-sensitive infrastructure initiatives.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has already approved the widening and improvement of the Kalibor–Numaligarh section of NH-715 into a four-lane corridor, incorporating extensive wildlife-friendly measures across the Kaziranga stretch.
The ambitious project will be executed under the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) mode, covering a total length of 85.675 km at an estimated capital cost of ?6,957 crore, making it one of the most ecologically sensitive highway upgrades undertaken in India.
A Highway Through a Living Landscape
The Kalibor–Numaligarh stretch of NH-715 (earlier NH-37) is a vital arterial road connecting Guwahati with Upper Assam. At present, it remains largely a two-lane highway, with or without paved shoulders, passing through densely populated towns such as Jakhalabandha in Nagaon district and Bokakhat in Golaghat.
A significant portion of this highway either passes through Kaziranga National Park or skirts its southern boundary, where restricted right of way, poor road geometry and rising traffic volumes have long posed safety and ecological challenges.
During the annual monsoon floods, large parts of Kaziranga are inundated, triggering mass movement of wildlife towards the Karbi Anglong hills. The existing highway becomes a lethal obstacle during these seasonal migrations, with vehicle collisions leading to frequent animal deaths despite speed limits and mitigation measures.
Elevated Corridor at the Core
To address this long-standing challenge, the Cabinet has already approved the construction of an approximately 34.5-km elevated corridor through the Kaziranga stretch, ensuring free and uninterrupted movement of wildlife beneath the highway.
Unlike conventional underpasses or culverts, the elevated structure keeps the entire ground below accessible, allowing animals to move naturally along broad fronts rather than funnelling them into narrow crossings. Given Kaziranga’s scale of seasonal movement and diversity of species, officials describe it as a corridor likely to be used by a wide range of wildlife, making it one of the most intensively utilised animal passages in the country.
India already has elevated wildlife corridors in Pench Tiger Reserve across Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, while a 20-km elevated corridor adjoining Rajaji Tiger Reserve between Ganeshpur and Dehradun in Uttarakhand is another prominent example. Conservation planners, however, note that Kaziranga’s corridor stands apart in terms of length, flood-driven animal movement and multi-species use, positioning it as a national benchmark.
The project also includes 30.22 km of at-grade widening of the existing road and 21 km of greenfield bypasses, including Jakhalabandha (11.5 km) and Bokakhat (9.5 km), aimed at decongesting towns and improving road safety.
Connectivity, Tourism and Jobs
Once completed, the upgraded corridor will strengthen direct connectivity between Guwahati, Kaziranga and Numaligarh, linking the state capital, a premier wildlife tourism destination and an important industrial town.
The alignment integrates with NH-127, NH-129 and State Highway-35, and enhances multimodal connectivity by linking three airports — Tezpur, Liabari and Jorhat — and three railway stations at Nagaon, Jakhalabandha and Bishwanath Chariali. It also improves access to fishing clusters in Tezpur and Nagaon, tribal districts such as Karbi Anglong, and major tourism and religious destinations, including Deopahar, Kakochang Waterfall, Baba Than and the Maha Mrityunjay Temple.
The government estimates employment generation of about 15.42 lakh person-days directly and 19.19 lakh person-days indirectly, with traffic projected at nearly 13,800 passenger car units by FY-25.
A National Test Case
By embedding a long elevated wildlife corridor within a major highway project cutting through a World Heritage Site, the NH-715 upgrade has become a test case for wildlife-sensitive infrastructure in India. As the country rapidly expands its road network through biodiversity-rich landscapes, the success of Kaziranga’s model could shape how future highways are planned across elephant, tiger and multi-species corridors nationwide.
With the Prime Minister laying the foundation stone on January 18, the Kaziranga elevated corridor now shifts from policy approval to on-ground execution. This moment will be closely watched by conservationists, planners and infrastructure agencies alike.
Ultimately, the primary purpose of investing nearly Rs 7,000 crore in this elevated corridor is to ensure that Kaziranga and its wildlife survive in the years to come by restoring natural movement patterns and significantly reducing roadkill. Whether that promise is realised will depend not only on engineering, but on how wildlife is safeguarded during construction and long after the flyover becomes operational. The coming years will determine whether this landmark investment proves to be a lasting blessing for Kaziranga National Park and its wildlife — or merely an expensive intervention that fell short of its ecological intent.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views or editorial position of Northeast Now.