Rajendra Setu | |
---|---|
Coordinates | 25°22′32″N 85°59′54″E / 25.3756°N 85.9983°E |
Carries | Mokama–Barauni section rail track, NH 31 |
Crosses | Ganges |
Locale | Barauni, Mokama |
Official name | Rajendra Setu |
Other name(s) | Simaria Pul |
Named for | Rajendra Prasad |
Characteristics | |
Design | Girder bridge |
Total length | 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) |
No. of spans | 14 x 400 ft 4 x 100 ft |
History | |
Engineering design by | Braithwaite, Burn & Jessop Construction Company |
Opened | May, 1959 |
Statistics | |
Daily traffic | Double road track & Single line rail track |
Toll | no |
Location | |
Rajendra Setu, or Simaria Bridge, is a bridge across the Ganges that was the first to link the northern and southern portions of the state of Bihar.[1][2] The location of the bridge was based on the work of M. Visvesvaraya, who was more than 90 years old at the time.[3][4] In a wheelchair, he visited the bridge site on the special request of Bihar's chief minister, Shri Krishna Sinha. It was the first bridge over the Ganges to be built in independent India .
The foundation stone of this bridge was laid by Dr Rajendra Prasad on 26 February 1956 in the seventh year of India's independence.
The road-cum-rail bridge near Hathidah in Patna district and Simaria in Begusarai district was inaugurated in 1959 by Jawaharlal Nehru, prime minister of India, and Shri Krishna Sinha.[5] The bridge was constructed by Braithwaite, Burn & Jessop Construction Company. It is about 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) long and carries a two-lane road and a single-line railway track.[6][7][8]
A new bridge, carrying the four-lane NH 31 and double-track rail, 25 metres upstream from the existing rail and road bridge, was planned in 2011.[9]
The construction of the new parallel double-line railway bridge was inaugurated by prime minister Narendra Modi on 12 March 2016.[10][11] The new 1.9 km railway bridge was supposed to be operational by February 2021,[12] but is now expected to be operational by 2024. The contract for construction of the new bridge was awarded to M/s AFCONS Infrastructure Ltd by the Indian Railway Construction International Limited (IRCON)on an EPC contract basis. Construction has also started on a new six-lane road bridge, which has a span of 34 metres, parallel to it, which is supposed to become operational by December 2024.