On July 31, 2020, as a part of the renovation of the Mahatma Gandhi Bridge/Setu over river Ganga in Bihar, Union Minister for Road Transport, Highways and MSMEs (Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises) Nitin Jairam Gadkari virtually inaugurated its upstream carriageway. This means the two lanes are completed of the 4-lane bridge which is being renovated at a cost of Rs 1,742 crore. The online ceremony was presided over by Chief Minister (CM) of Bihar Nitish Kumar.
Mahatma Gandhi Bridge: 1st ever Indian Bridge to use modern tech for renovation
Over 5.5 km, this four lane bridge at NH-19 between Patna and Hajipur is being renovated to replace its existing concrete superstructure by new steel deck superstructure, consisting of about 6600 metric steel.
- Work on this bridge was started in June 2017 and is scheduled to be completed in two parts. Upstream lane, which has been recently completed and downstream which will be completed by December 2021.
- This is the first ever bridge in India using modern technology for improving the existing structure.
- The designing of the bridge has been done by Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee in discussion with international consultants.
New 5 km bridge in parallel to MG Setu announced; cost about Rs 2,926.42 crore
During the inauguration ceremony, a new 5 km long, 4-lane Bridge over river Ganga in parallel to MG Setu, was also announced by Nitin Gadkari to facilitate movement of ships under it. Its tender will be out in August 2020, and the work will start soon. With an outlay of Rs 2,926.42 crore, it will get completed by 2024.
Point to be noted:
–Overall, Rs 10,338 crore will be spent on bridges over river Ganga which include the following among others:
- Rs 1,478 crore bridge on Koshi river which will serve as a connectivity link between Bhagalpur and Madhepura besides improving connectivity to Nepal, West Bengal and North Eastern states.
- Rs 1,100 crore Vikramshila bridge to connect Bhagalpur and Naugachia and Bhojpur-Buxar bridge on Ganga that will provide connectivity to Uttar Pradesh and will be completed before 2021.
–In addition, for the development of Bihar, Madhubani paintings were being promoted while state products like litchi will be exported.
Other Participants during online ceremony: Union Ministers Shri Ram Vilas Paswan and Shri Ravishankar Prasad, MoS Gen (Retd) V K Singh, Shri Ashwani Chaube and Shri Nityanand Rai, Deputy Chief Minister Shri Sushil Kumar Modi, State RCD Minister Shri Nand Kishore Yadav, members of Parliament Shri Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Shri Ram Kripal Yadav, Shri Pashupati Kumar Paras and Smt Veena Devi, senior officers of central govt and from the State govt.
About Bihar:
Capital– Patna
Governor– Phagu Chauhan
