Mega infra push in Bihar- Rs 3,000 cr six-lane bridge to come up across river Ganga, eyes regional connectivity – Key details

Mega infra push in Bihar: Rs 3,000 cr six-lane bridge to come up across river Ganga, eyes regional connectivity – Key details

A 4.5 Km long, 6-lane bridge will soon come up across the river Ganga, connecting two important districts Patna and Saran in the state of Bihar.The decision was taken in the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday, approving the vital project. The project is targeted to be completed in 42 months from the appointed date.

“6-lane high level/extra dosed cable-stayed bridge across river Ganga (parallel to the western side of existing Digha-Sonepur rail-cum road bridge) and its approaches on both sides in the Districts of Patna and Saran (NH-139W) in the State of Bihar on EPC mode,” Ministry of Road & Transport mentioned in a communique.

The much-needed project

The importance of the project can be understood as Digha (situated at Patna & South Bank of Ganga River) and Sonepur (North Bank of Ganga River in Saran District) are presently connected by a rail-cum road bridge for movement of light vehicles only.Therefore, the present road cannot be used to transport goods and commodities which is a major economic blockade. With the upcoming bridge between the two districts, the movement of goods and commodities will be bolstered, pushing the region’s economic potential.

Furthermore, the bridge will provide direct connectivity from Patna to the golden quadrilateral corridor via NH-139 at Aurangabad and Sonepur (NH-31), Chhapra, Motihari (East-West corridor old NH-27), Bettiah (NH-727) in the Northern side of Bihar.

Also, NH-139W provides connectivity to the famous Areraj Someshwar Nath temple and the proposed Viraat Ramayan Mandir (the largest religious monument in the world) at Kesariya in the east Champaran district.

As per the Economic analysis, an Economic Internal Rate of Return (EIRR) has predicted 17.6% in the best case and 13.1% in the worst case, which may be attributed to the savings in distance and time traveled.

Implementation strategy

Implemented in the Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) mode, the construction of the bridge will see the use of the latest technology like 5D-Building Information Modelling (BIM), Bridge Health Monitoring System (BHMS), monthly drone mapping to ensure the quality of construction and operations.