Aunta–Simaria Bridge: PM Modi To Inaugurate Six-Lane Bridge In Bihar On Aug. 22; Check Project Details

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit election-bound Bihar on Friday to inaugurate the Aunta–Simaria project in Gaya. The project also includes a new two-kilometre bridge over the Ganga River. The bridge will facilitate direct connectivity between Mokama in Patna district and Begusarai.

The bridge has been built parallel to the old Rajendra Setu, a two-lane rail-cum-road bridge, Anil Choudhary, Member, National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), said while briefing the media about the project in New Delhi on Wednesday.

This new project is expected to cut travel distance by up to 100 kilometres between North and South Bihar. During the media briefing, Choudhary highlighted that it will reduce fuel use and vehicle operation costs. The bridge will also speed up travel and boost transport efficiency for the regional commuters, including heavy vehicle transportation.

The foundation stone for this project was laid by PM Modi in 2017 and it will now be inaugurated for public use.

During his visit to the Gaya district of the poll-bound state, PM Modi will inaugurate and lay foundation stones for projects worth over Rs 13,000 crore and address a gathering at around 11 a.m.

Located on NH31, the entire bridge is 8.15 km long. It also includes a 1.86 km long 6 lane bridge on river Ganga. Constructed at a cost of over Rs 1,870 crore, the project will provide direct connectivity between Mokama in Patna and Begusarai.

“The bridge has been constructed parallel to an old two-lane dilapidated rail-cum-road bridge ‘Rajendra Setu’, which is in poor condition, forcing heavy vehicles to re-route. The new bridge will reduce this extra travel distance of more than 100 km for the heavy vehicles travelling between North Bihar (Begusarai, Supaul, Madhubani, Purnea and Araria) and South Bihar areas (Sheikhpura, Nawada and Lakhisarai),” the Prime Minister’s Office said in a press release.

In addition to improving vehicle movement, the project will also provide easier connectivity to the popular pilgrimage place of Simaria Dham, the birthplace of the renowned poet Ramdhari Singh Dinkar.

PM Modi is also scheduled to inaugurate projects like NH-31 (Bakhtiyarpur–Mokama) four-lane section, Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital & Research Centre, Muzaffarpur, Sewerage Treatment Plant (STP) at Munger and the Buxar Thermal Power Plant, among others. Later in the day, PM Modi will visit West Bengal.