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The state of Bihar has a number of bridges, extending from few meters to a few kilometers. The history of long bridges goes back to the British Empire when the site for the Koilvar bridge( now called Abdul Bari) was surveyed in 1851. Since then a number of small and large bridges have crept up. Some are even largest of their kind. Gandhi Setu, joining Patna and Hajipur is Asia's longest river bridge.
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Mahatma Gandhi Setu
Also called Gandhi Setu or Ganga Setu is a bridge over the river Ganges connecting Patna in the south to Hajipur in the north of Bihar. Its length is 5,575 metres (18,291 ft) and it is one of the longest river bridge in India. It was inaugurated in May 1982 by the then Prime Minister, Mrs Indira Gandhi. The bridge was approved by the Central Government in 1969 and built by Gammon India Limited over a period of ten years, from 1972 to 1982. It was built to connect North Bihar with the rest of Bihar. Before this bridge was constructed, Rajendra Setu, opened in 1959, was the only link to North Bihar. Since then, the Vikramshila Setu has also been built across the Ganges. Two more rail-cum-road bridges are currently under construction, between Digha and Sonepur and at Munger.
A parallel Bridge is planned on Ganga, DPR Initiated
Koilvar Bridge
Koilwar Bridge, now named Abdul Bari Bridge, at Koilwar spans the River Sone. The bridge has been named after Professor Abdul Bari, academic and social reformer. The Koilwar Bridge (known as Sone Bridge when it was built) is amongst the older of the longer bridges in this subcontinent. Although construction started in 1856, it was disrupted by uprisings in 1857 and completed in 1862. It was inaugurated by the Viceroy Lord Elgin, who said, "... this magnificent bridge was exceeded in magnitude by only one bridge in the world". The 4,726 feet (1,440 m) bridge was designed by James Meadows Rendell and Sir Matthew Digby Wyatt. It remained the longest bridge in the Indian subcontinent till was overtaken by the Upper Sone Bridge in 1900. The steel rail-road bridge is shown in the film Gandhi. A two lane road (NH 30) runs just under the double rail tracks. Sand mining near the pillars of this old bridge has created structural problems recently.
Rajendra Setu
Rajendra Setu(also known as Rajendra Pul and Mokama Bridge) across the Ganges was the first bridge to link North Bihar and South Bihar. The road-cum-rail bridge near Mokama in Patna district was inaugurated by Dr. Rajendra Prasad, President of India. It is about 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) long and carries a two lane road and a single line railway track. It was opened in 1959. A four-lane road bridge, carrying NH 31, parallel to the existing rail and road bridge, has been planned.
Construction is going to start for a paralllel bridge to Rajendra Pul near mokama, expected completion date by 2020
Nehru Setu
Nehru Setu(earlier referred to as the Upper Son Bridge), across the Son River, between Dehri-on-Son and Son Nagar, in Bihar, is the second longest railway bridge in India, after Vembanad Rail Bridge in Kerala. However, the latter is meant only for goods traffic.Jawahar Setu, the road bridge carrying NH 2 and running parallel to the Nehru Setu, was constructed in 1963–65. The Government of Bihar sanctioned in 2008, a bridge across the Son River connecting Arwal and Sahar in Bojpur district. The Koilwar bridge preceded the Nehru Setu and was opened in 1862. A four-lane road bridge, carrying NH 30, parallel to the existing rail and road Koilwar Bridge, has been planned. An anicut was constructed across the Son, a little upstream of the present Nehru Setu and Jawahar Setu, in 1873–74. The Indrapuri Barrage was constructed, 8 km upstream, and commissioned in 1968.
Digha–Sonpur bridge
Digha–Sonpur bridge, is a K-truss Bridge across river Ganges, connecting Digha Ghat in Patna and Pahleja Ghat in Sonpur. The bridge was completed in August 2015. The bridge provides easy Roadway and Railway link between Northern and Southern parts of Bihar.
Earlier, Rajendra Setu was the only bridge that carries railway tracks across the Ganges in the state of Bihar. It was opened in 1959. Initially sanctioned as a rail bridge, the Ganga Rail Bridge project was converted to a rail-cum-road bridge in 2006. Total cost of the project was put at ₹13,890 million, out of which ₹8,350 million was for the rail part, and ₹5,540 million was for the road part. It was expected to be completed in five years. When completed, the 4,556 metres (14,948 ft) bridge would be amongst the longer bridges in India. The total length of construction, including approaches, would be 20 km. It would be a K-truss bridge. According to a media report the bridge is expected to be completed by 2017. Rail part of the bridge was inaugurated on 12 March 2016.
Vikramshila Setu
Vikramshila Setu is a bridge across the Ganges, near Bhagalpur named after Vikramashila Mahavihara which was established by King Dharmapala (783 to 820 A.D.) . Vikramshila Setu is 3rd longest bridge in India and 118 rank in world longest bridge in world The 4.7 km long bridge serves as a link between NH 80 and NH 31 running on the opposite sides of the Ganges. It runs from Barari Ghat on the Bhagalpur side on the south bank of the Ganges to Naugachia on the north bank. It also connects Bhagalpur to Purnia and Katihar. This has reduced considerably the road travel distance between Bhagalpur and places across the Ganges.
Munger ganga Bridge
Munger Ganga Bridge is a rail-cum-road bridge under construction across the Ganges, at Munger.The bridge will connect Munger-Jamalpur twin cities to various districts of North Bihar. The 3.19 km long bridge costing Rs. 9,300 million is located 55 km downstream of the Rajendra Setu near Mokama and 68 km upstream of the Vikramshila Setu at Bhagalpur. The bridge will form a link between NH 80 on the southern side of the Ganges and NH 31 on the northern side of the Ganges. It will also help to connect Jamalpur Junction on the Sahibganj Loop line of Eastern Railway to Sahebpur Kamal Junction on the Barauni-Katihar section of East Central Railway. The Bridge will connect districts of Begusarai and Khagaria to the Divisional headquarters Munger city. Construction work on the bridge was inaugurated by Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Prime Minister, through video conference system, in 2002.
Bakhtiyarpur-Tajpur Bridge
The Bakhtiyarpur-Tajpur Bridge currently under construction, will span the river Ganges, connecting Bakhtiyarpur in Patna and Tajpur in Samastipur. Upon completion in March 2015, the bridge would provide easy Roadway link between Northern and Southern parts of Bihar. Former chief minister Mr. Nitish Kumar inaugurated the construction of the 5.575 km long bridge in June,2011. Upon completion in 2015 the bridge will decongest the load on Mahatma Gandhi Setu and also reduce the traffic in the capital city of Patna. A bridge has been planned across the Ganges to connect Arrah and Chhapra. A road bridge parallel to the existing rail and road bridge, Rajendra Setu, has also been planned. The bridge would be 5.575 km bridge constructed at PPP mode across river Ganga that will connect Bakhtiyarpur in Patna district on NH 31 and Tajpur in Samastipur district on NH 28. The bridge will also require construction of altogether 45.393 km stretch of approach roads on both ends of the bridge. The total cost of the project is estimated at Rs 1602.74 crore out of which Rs 100 crores will be spent on acquiring land. Atfirst, Rs 917.74 crore is to be invested by Navayuga Engineering Company Limited (NECL) as viability gap fund on PPP basis. Rs 277.50 crore are to be invested by the Centre and Rs 307.50 crore by the state government. The Bihar government would also bear the expenses incurred on acquiring land. NECL, a Hyderabad base firm was selected through competitive bidding.
Current Issues
Despite a number of long bridges running over land and water, they are not sufficient enough to withstand the demands of people. In such conditions Traffic is a common issue. In recent times, the bridges all over Bihar have been witnessing major traffic chaos and accidents due to exceeding number of vehicles passing over it and regularly overloading the structure. Some bridges have grown old enough to be rebuilt again and in accordance with the modern need.
Solutions
It is not that the government is not working in the direction, but the steps taken are still a fraction of what is needed. Bihar Government is planning to build two Pontoon bridges in parallel to Ganga Setu, in order to ease traffic on Ganga Setu.