MUMBAI, July 27 (Xinhua) -- The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has begun setting up a detailed project report (DPR) for construction of a world-class eight-lane road bridge across Pamban Strait to connect Rameswaram island with the mainland.

Acknowledged as India's first sea bridge, Pamban Bridge was opened on Feb. 24, 1914.

The newly reposed project is expected to cost 1,250 crore rupees, which could mark as a major development index of India.

Soil testing on lands and in the sea on the Mandapam side had begun and the DPR will be finished off in two months, said the report.

"The bridge would be built on the south side, and after covering the Pamban Strait portion, it would run on pillars for nearly 1 km on land on the Pamban side to ensure that the habitations were least affected," the officials was quoted as saying by an Indian daily newspaper, The Hindu.