NHAI Invites Bids For Six-Lane Bridge On Ganga After Patna HC Intervention

The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) has floated a tender to build a 14.52 kilometres long six-lane bridge across the river Ganga between Sherpur of Danapur and Dighwara in Saran district.

The upcoming project consists of a 9.45-km-long bridge along with 5.07-km-long approach road and will have ramps at Gangahara in the riverine areas between the streams of Ganga.

To be built at an estimated cost of Rs 4,995 crore, the eligible construction company will be selected by September-end. The selected bidder will have to complete the work in the next three years and also, maintain the bridge for 10 years.

The state government has initiated the proceedings for acquisition of land for Sherpur-Dighwara six lane bridge. The government has further sanctioned a sum of Rs 316.71 crore for acquiring 86.12 hectares of land for the project.

The bridge will benefit the residents of the districts of Saran, Sivan and Gopalganj and also provide an alternate path for people from these areas. Once operational, the bridge will shorten the distance between the state capital, Patna and Chhapra, the headquarters of the Saran district to one hour.

Danapur diara to come on road network

The Sherpur-Dighwara stretch of the bridge is a part of the outer ring road of Patna totalling 137.5 km in length. A joint project of NHAI and Bihar’s Road Construction Department (RDC), the 15,000 crore ring road project involves 4-land and 6-lane roads in the State Capital, and two bridges on the Ganga River.

“For the first time, about six panchayats of Danapur diara (riverine areas), which remained cut-off from the land due to streams of Ganga for decades, would be brought on the road network,” said an executive engineer of the RCD, adding that there will be two ramps of the bridge falling on diara near Gangahara.

With the tender process for the bridge set in motion, the ring road project is also expected to get a boost, said Bihar’s Road Construction Minister Nitin Nabin.

PIL in Patna High Court

The tender for the six-lane bridge was floated on Thursday (28 July), days after NHAI Chairman Alka Upadhyaya attended the hearing of a related case in the chamber of Patna High Court Chief Justice Sanjay Karol and assured of prompt action to resolve the issues hampering the execution of all National Highway (NH) projects in Bihar.

The NH projects in the state have been progressing at a snail’s pace, and mired in various issues, particularly land acquisition hurdles. Patna HC has been hearing a batch of public interest litigations (PILs) over inordinate delay in implementation of almost all the projects being taken up by the NHAI in the state.

The Patna-Gaya-Dobhi stretch of the NH 80 has been pending for completion for more than six years – the NHAI had awarded work on the 127-km-long stretch in as early as 2014.

Similarly, work is stalled on Chakiya-Bairgania section of NH-227(F) - a two-lane highway of 30 km stretch passing through East Champaran and Sitamarhi districts- and has been held up due to land acquisition hurdles in East Champaran.

The division bench of Chief Justice Sanjay Karol, on one such occasion orally remarked that Bihar badly needs rapid infrastructural development and directed the central and state governments as well as Railways and other government agencies to give top priority to expeditious completion of the infrastructure projects in the state.

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