Rajendra Setu | |
|---|---|
 Rajendra Setu fromSimaria Ghat | |
| Coordinates | 25°22′32″N85°59′54″E / 25.3756°N 85.9983°E /25.3756; 85.9983 |
| Carries | Mokama–Barauni section rail track,NH 31 |
| Crosses | Ganges |
| Locale | Barauni,Mokama |
| Official name | Rajendra Setu |
| Other name | 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 | |
 Interactive map of Rajendra Setu | |
Rajendra Setu, orSimaria Bridge, is a bridge across theGanges that was the first to link the northern and southern portions of the state ofBihar.[1][2] The location of the bridge was based on the work ofM. 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 1st chief minister, Dr.Shri Krishna Sinha. It was the first bridge over the Ganges to be built in independentIndia.
The foundation stone of this bridge was laid byRajendra Prasad in Presence of CM Dr. Srikrishna Sinha alias "Bihar Keshri" & "Sri Babu" on 26 February 1956 in the seventh year of India's independence.
The road-cum-rail bridge nearHathidah inPatna district andSimaria inBegusarai district was inaugurated in 1959 byJawaharlal Nehru, prime minister of India, and Chief Minister Dr. Shri Krishna Sinha .[5] The bridge was constructed byBraithwaite, Burn & Jessop Construction Company in just Three and Half years. It is about 2 kilometres (1+1⁄4 mi) long and carries a two-lane road and a single-line railway track.[6][7][8]
Due to poor maintenance, it has been damaged, and a new bridge, carrying the four-laneNH 31 and double-track rail, 25 metres (80 ft) 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 ministerNarendra Modi on 12 March 2016.[10][11] The new 1.9 km (1.2 mi) 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/sAFCONS Infrastructure Ltd by theIndian Railway Construction International Limited (IRCON) on anEPC contract basis. A newsix-lane road bridge (Aunta-Simaria bridge), which has a span of 34 metres (112 ft), parallel to it, became operational in August 2025 after formal inauguration by prime minister Narendra Modi.[citation needed]
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