Cabinet approves construction of seventh bridge over Ganga River in Patna

Cable-stayed bridge

The Union Cabinet on December 27 approved the construction of a 4.56 km long, 6-lane bridge on river Ganga, connecting the residential neighbourhoods Digha and Sonepur in Patna, Bihar.

The upcoming bridge will be the seventh bridge constructed over the Ganga River in Patna and will help provide seamless connectivity between the northern and southern parts of Bihar.

The six-lane cable-stayed bridge is proposed to be constructed over the Ganga River in Patna between Digha and Sonepur and will be built parallel to the Western side (180 metre upstream) of the Digha-Sonepur Rail-cum-Road Bridge (J P Setu).

The total cost for the project is estimated at Rs 3,064.45 crore, including Rs 2,233.81 crore for civil construction, the government said in a press release on December 27.

The bridge will make traffic faster and easier, resulting in the overall development of the state, especially north Bihar, the government said.

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways issued a tender for this project in January 2023 and construction work of the project will be started now after cabinet approval.

The project shall be developed for Rs 3,064.45 crore through an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract and will be ready in 42 months.

The firm selected for construction work will also maintain the bridge for three and a half years from the completion of the work.

The J P Setu is a rail-cum-road bridge across Ganga, connecting Digha Ghat in Patna and Pahleja Ghat in Sonepur, Saran district in Bihar. Named after the famous freedom fighter Jayaprakash Narayan (J P), the bridge provides an easy roadway and railway link between the northern and southern parts of Bihar.

The total length of the project is 6.925 km which includes an extra-dosed bridge of 4.556 km and 2.369 km of approach road to connect the bridge with the road.

An extra-dosed bridge implies a cable-stayed bridge between two pillars. In such bridges, 50 per cent of the load is borne by the cables and the rest by the deck. This type of bridge requires less number of pillars which reduces the cost and time required for construction.

Further, there shall be four loops totaling 3.085 km to connect the bridge with various parts of the city. Loop 1 and 4 will be between Sonepur and AIIMS Patna whereas Loop 2 will connect to Sonepur to Ganga Path Road.

The project will improve transport connectivity between north and south Bihar, which is divided by the Ganga, and better link to Patna, the state capital city, and the surrounding areas.

Digha (situated at Patna and 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 the movement of light vehicles only.

In particular, the bridge will directly benefit the residents of Patna, Saran, Vaishali, Muzaffarpur, East and West Champaran districts. Also, it will ease access to the Buddhist sites in the state, namely, Bodh Gaya, Vaishali, Lauria and Kesariya. At the same time, it will be easy to visit Valmiki Tiger Reserve.

Valmiki Tiger Reserve forms the easternmost limit of the Himalayan Terai forests in India and is the only tiger reserve in Bihar.

According to the government, the economic analysis results of the project have shown an economic internal rate of return (EIRR) of 17.6 per cent in the base case and 13.1 per cent in the worst-case scenario which may be attributed to the savings in distance and time travelled.