Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary on Friday announced that the six-lane Kachchi Dargah-Bidupur bridge over the Ganga River has been named 'Nitish Setu' in honour of former Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. In a post on social media platform X, Choudhary said Prime Minister Narendra Modi would dedicate the bridge to the nation during his visit to Bihar on November 21.

Source: IANS via Fresh Headline

The Prime Minister will also attend a programme in Rajapakar in Vaishali district, where he is scheduled to inaugurate several public welfare and development projects and lay foundation stones for new initiatives, the Chief Minister said.

A 9.75-km bridge, a 19.76-km project

The six-lane greenfield bridge is approximately 9.75 km long and 32 metres wide, and connects Kachchi Dargah in Patna district with Bidupur in Vaishali district across the Ganga. Including approach roads, the total project length is around 19.76 km, and the bridge has been designed for vehicles travelling at speeds of up to 100 kmph.

9.75 kmlength of the six-lane main bridge
19.76 kmtotal project length with approach roads
Rs 5,000 crore+project cost
November 21PM Modi to dedicate the bridge to the nation

The project was built at a cost of more than Rs 5,000 crore. According to IANS, the state government secured a loan of Rs 3,000 crore from the Asian Development Bank, while the remaining Rs 2,000 crore was funded through its own resources. The decision to construct the bridge was taken in 2015 and its foundation stone was laid in 2016; the project has taken nearly a decade to reach completion.

First phase already open to traffic

The first phase of the bridge, a 4.57-km stretch between Kachchi Dargah and Raghopur Diara, has already been opened to traffic, providing relief to residents of the riverine Diara region. Once fully operational, the bridge will connect the Patna-Bakhtiyarpur bypass (NH-30) with NH-103 in Vaishali, improving connectivity between Patna, Vaishali and other parts of North Bihar.

Source: Daily Jagran

Reports say the bridge is expected to cut travel time between Patna and Vaishali to around 20 to 25 minutes and ease pressure on existing road links, including the Gandhi Setu, while supporting trade, investment and employment in the region. The naming after Nitish Kumar, who had championed the project, has added political significance to the Prime Minister's November 21 visit, which comes as the NDA government in Bihar nears one year in office.