Kacchi Dargah-Bidupur Bridge Renamed: The newly finished six-lane Kacchi Dargah-Bidupur bridge over the Ganga in Bihar has been renamed Nitish Setu. Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary made the announcement through his Instagram account on Friday. Naming a major bridge after former CM Nitish Kumar while he is still alive is being viewed as a rather unusual step in the state. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to inaugurate the mega project when he visits Bihar on November 21.

The bridge is set to strengthen road links between North and South Bihar. It will also give people a fresh route that completely skips Patna city.

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Nitish Kumar Laid The Foundation Stone In 2015

The Kacchi Dargah-Bidupur bridge project got the green light in 2015. Nitish Kumar, who was then the CM of the state, laid its foundation stone in August that year. Tejashwi Yadav, then part of the Grand Alliance government, was also present at the event.

Nitish Kumar stayed closely connected with the work throughout his time in office. He visited the construction site several times to check progress and get updates from officials. Even after he stepped down as Chief Minister, he is said to have kept an eye on the project.

Check Length, Cost And Other Details Of Nitish Setu

The entire project runs 19.76 km. Of this, 9.76 km is the bridge that stretches across the Ganga, while the remaining stretch of about 10 km covers the approach roads. The total cost of the project has come to Rs 4,988.40 crore, which includes the expense of land acquisition. Around Rs 3,000 crore of the funding came as a loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The Bihar government put in roughly Rs 2,000 crore from its own budget.

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How Will Nitish Setu Benefit Commuters?

The bridge is expected to cut travel time between Patna and Vaishali to around 20 to 25 minutes. Once it opens fully, vehicles heading from South Bihar to the northern districts will no longer need to enter Patna city. This alternative route should also take some of the heavy load off Gandhi Setu, which currently carries a large share of traffic between the two regions.

The new bridge will link up with the Amas-Darbhanga road project and the Patna Ganga Path. This is likely to improve access to Vaishali, Samastipur, Darbhanga and several other parts of North Bihar.