WEST BENGAL's oldest Bridge | soon to be dismantled 😪

This may be the last chance we can see the bridge and a piece of Kolkata history before it's dismantled and displayed at a museum. In West Bengal, the answer changes depending on whether you are looking for the oldest *rail* bridge or the oldest *road* bridge. *1. The Oldest Rail Bridge: Jubilee Bridge (1885)* The *Jubilee Bridge* is historically the oldest and most significant rail bridge in the state. *Location:* Spans the Hooghly River between Naihati and Bandel. *Opened:* February 16, 1887 (to coincide with the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria). *Significance:* It was a masterpiece of Victorian engineering and the first to connect the East Indian Railway and the Eastern Bengal Railway. *Status:* It was *decommissioned in 2016* after 129 years of service and replaced by the nearby *Sampreeti Bridge*. It still stands today as a heritage structure. *2. The Oldest Operational Rail-cum-Road Bridge: Vivekananda Setu (1931)* Also known as the *Bally Bridge* or **Willingdon Bridge**, this is the oldest bridge in the state that still carries trains. *Location:* Connects Bally (Howrah) to Dakshineswar (Kolkata). *Opened:* December 1931. *Significance:* It was the first bridge to provide direct rail and road connectivity between the Port of Kolkata and the major railhead at Howrah. It is a multispan truss bridge that remains a vital link today. *3. The "Oldest" Iconic Road Bridge: Howrah Bridge (1943)* While people often think of the *Howrah Bridge (Rabindra Setu)* as the "oldest," it is actually younger than the others. *History:* The first version was a *pontoon bridge* (floating bridge) built in *1874**. However, the famous cantilever steel structure we see today was completed in **1942* and opened in **1943**. *Significance:* It is the busiest cantilever bridge in the world and has become the ultimate symbol of Kolkata.