"The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved the project, namely rehabilitation of four lane 5.575 km long Mahatma Gandhi Setu at NH-19 on the Ganga river at Patna in Bihar," Finance Minister Arun Jaitley told reporters here.
Stating that this proposal was pending for last 15 years, Jaitley said the rehabilitation of this bridge would help in easing the traffic woes.
The proposal was also an important part of Bihar package earlier announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Jaitley said.
The project is in Patna-Hazipur region, connecting North and South Bihar. It will help in expediting the improvement of infrastructure in the state besides reducing time and cost of travel, particularly for heavy traffic plying between North and South Bihar.
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The rehabilitation of the bridge will also help in uplifting the socio-economic condition of this region in the state.
After a lot of studies through national and foreign experts, it has now been decided that only remedy left is to dismantle the existing superstructure followed by subsequent re-decking by steel truss. Accordingly, a detailed estimate has been prepared for rehabilitation of superstructure of the bridge in Patna.