On Monday, December 17, Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved the construction of the new four-lane bridge in Patna across Ganga that falls on NH-19. The project will fall parallel to MG Setu and is estimated to cost Rs 2,926.42 crore. It is likely to be finished by January 2023.
The project includes a bridge that is 5,634-metre long, four vehicular underpasses, one rail over bridge, one flyover that is 110-metre long, viaduct that is 1,580-metre long, four minor bridges, five bus shelters and 13 road junctions.
The existing bridge is the gap between South and North Bihar and carries traffic from Uttar Pradesh, Bengal, Jharkhand and Nepal. Due to the increasing traffic, even the existing four-lane bridge is not enough. After the new bridge is completed, the traffic will be facilitated by the eight lanes.
Zee News reported that the project will generate employment of 20.94 lakh man-days during the construction period. Prior to 2014, just about 13 bridges existed on the Ganga between Allahabad to Farakka. As of now, there are 33, some of which have to be completed, of course. The Patna bridge will make it the 30th.