Cabinet Approves 4.56 km Ganga Bridge In Bihar Connecting Digha- Sonpur

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on 27 December 2023 approved the construction of a 4556 metre (4.56 km) long new bridge on the river Ganga. This bridge will be a 6-lane cable bridge between Digha and Sonpur district in Bihar.

Total included expenditure of the project:

• The total cost of the project is Rs 3,064.45 crore, which includes civil construction cost of Rs 2,233.81 crore.

Overall development of North Bihar through bridge:

• This bridge will make traffic faster and easier. The construction of this bridge will ensure overall development of the state, especially North Bihar.
• Digha and Sonpur are currently connected by a rail cum road bridge for light vehicle movement only. Therefore, the present road cannot be used to transport goods and commodities.
• Providing this bridge will remove the bottleneck between Digha and Sonpur. After the construction of the bridge, goods and commodities can be transported. With the construction of the bridge, the economic potential of the area can be fully exploited.

Tourism boosted by bridge:

• The bridge will provide direct connectivity from Patna to Aurangabad and the Golden Quadrilateral corridor on the northern side via Sonpur, Chhapra, Motihari (East-West Corridor), Bettiah.
• This project of Bihar is a part of the Buddha Circuit.
• It provides better connectivity to the Buddhist stupas at Vaishali and Keshariya.
• Additionally, NH-139W provides connectivity to the famous Areraj Someshwar Nath Temple and the proposed Virat Ramayana Temple at Kesariya in East Champaran district. The Virat Ramayana Temple is considered to be the largest religious monument in the world.
• This bridge will make vehicular movement faster and easier, resulting in the overall development of the area.

Bridge Implementation Strategy:

• Many state-of-the-art technologies will be used to ensure quality construction and operation. It mainly includes: 
  • 5D-Building Information Modelling (BIM)
  • Bridge Health Monitoring System (BHMS)
  • Monthly drone mapping 

• The target is to complete the construction work of the bridge in 42 months from the scheduled date.

Benefits of building a bridge:

• The project aims to provide faster mobility and better connectivity between the north and south parts of Bihar.
• It will promote the socio-economic development of the entire region.
• Various activities undertaken during the construction and maintenance period of the project are expected to generate direct employment for skilled and unskilled workers.