bridge
The new bridge will be constructed parallel to the existing Mahatma Gandhi Setu bridge. Credit: Aksveer.

The Government of India has approved a Rs29.26bn ($415m) project to construct a new bridge over river Ganga in Patna, Bihar.

The project will see a 5.634km long four-lane bridge constructed across river Ganga on NH-19, parallel to the existing Mahatma Gandhi Setu (MG Setu).

Work will take place over the next three and a half years and is scheduled to be completed by January 2023.

The complete 14.5km project includes 5.63km of major bridges, four vehicular underpasses (VUPs), a rail over bridge, four minor bridges, five bus shelters and 13 road junctions.

“The proposed four-lane bridge will provide for an arrangement of eight-lane movement of traffic by supporting existing old four-lane MG Setu.”

It will be executed on engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) mode and will support traffic movement on the existing MG Setu, which currently surpasses 60,000 vehicles per day.

The proposed four-lane bridge will provide for an arrangement of eight-lane movement of traffic by supporting existing old four-lane MG Setu.

As well as offering greater mobility, comfort and convenience, the project will facilitate socio-economic benefits to the society at large.

It is estimated that the new bridge project will generate direct employment of approximately 20.94 lakh man-days during its construction.

The New Ganga bridge will be the 30th bridge on river Ganges between Allahabad and Farakka.