Patna: Around 76% of the construction work on the Kacchi Dargah-Bidupur six-lane bridge, being built over the Ganga river by the Bihar State Road Development Corporation Limited (BSRDCL), is complete. The remaining work is expected to be completed by July 2025.
After its completion, the bridge will establish a road connection between the state’s northern and southern regions.The structure will serve as a vital link, joining two important national highways by connecting NH-31 with NH-322, said a BSRDCL official.
“The Kacchi Dargah-Bidupur six-lane bridge will span the river Ganga, connecting Kacchi Dargah in Patna and Bidupur at Hajipur in Vaishali district. The starting point of the bridge is Patna-Bakhtiyarpur four-lane on NH-30 (Sabalpur) in Patna, while the endpoint is between Chak Sikandar and Ghazipur Chowk on NH-103, Samastipur. The total length of the project is 19.76 km, out of which the length of the bridge is 9.76 km. The length of the approach path is 10 km,” said a BSRDCL official.
Being built at a cost of Rs 4,988 crore, the six-lane greenfield bridge will be supported by cables, with the structure between the two piers, spanning 150 metres, suspended on cables. For this, 15.2 mm cables have been imported from South Korea. The bridge is being constructed by infrastructure major Larsen & Toubro and the Korean company, Daewoo, as a joint venture agency. It will be the country’s longest extra-dosed cable bridge and has been funded by the Asian Development Bank.
“The bridge, consisting 65 spans, will reduce the load on Mahatma Gandhi Setu and will also reduce vehicular traffic in Patna. The bridge is being constructed under engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) mode. While the substructure work is complete, superstructure work is in progress,” added the official.
According to the information, the height of the bridge is about 22 metres above the water level of the Ganga. During monsoon and floods, it will be approximately 12 to 13 metres above the maximum water level of the Ganga. “Even a devastating flood will not affect it,” he said.
Considering the movement of cargo ships on the Ganga, the distance between two pillars has been kept at 150 metres, allowing uninterrupted passage for cargo ships from Kolkata to Varanasi via the river.