Coronation Bridge

Coronation Bridge — also known as Sevoke Bridge or Baghpool — is an iconic open-spandrel reinforced-concrete arch bridge spanning the Teesta River at Sevoke in West Bengal's Darjeeling district. Designed and executed by the Bengal Public Works Department, the bridge was completed in 1941 to mark the 1937 coronation of King George VI — a year after his actual coronation due to wartime priority shifts.

The bridge is the gateway to the northeastern hills, lying on NH-10 between Siliguri (the Bengal foothills hub) and Sikkim/Bhutan. Two stylised stone lions flank the southern approach, an iconic photo-spot that became the subject of a 1953 Indian postage stamp. The 81 m concrete arch was an ambitious choice for the era — RCC bridges with this scale of single-arch span were uncommon in colonial India, where steel truss was the more familiar choice.

The Teesta valley at this location is geologically active and prone to flash floods — most recently the October 2023 South Lhonak Lake outburst flood, which scoured the abutments but the bridge survived. Heavy commercial traffic to Sikkim and the strategic Indo-Bhutan border has stressed the structure beyond its design capacity, and a parallel four-lane bridge was sanctioned in 2018 to relieve it.

The bridge is officially heritage-listed by the Government of West Bengal and is now load-restricted to lighter vehicles only.