Rajendra Setu

25°22′32″N 85°59′54″E / 25.3756°N 85.9983°E / 25.3756; 85.9983CarriesMokama–Barauni section rail track, NH 31CrossesGangesLocaleBarauni, MokamaOfficial nameRajendra SetuOther name(s)Simaria PulNamed forRajendra PrasadCharacteristicsDesignGirder bridgeTotal length2,000 metres (6,600 ft)No. of spans14 x 400 ft
4 x 100 ftHistoryEngineering design byBraithwaite, Burn & Jessop Construction CompanyOpenedMay, 1959StatisticsDaily trafficDouble road track & Single line rail trackTollnoLocation

Rajendra Setu, or Simaria Bridge, is a bridge across the Ganges that was the first to link the northern and southern portions of the state of Bihar.^[1][2] The location of the bridge was based on the work of M. 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 chief minister, Shri Krishna Sinha. It was the first bridge over the Ganges to be built in independent India.

The foundation stone of this bridge was laid by Dr Rajendra Prasad on 26 February 1956 in the seventh year of India's independence.

The road-cum-rail bridge near Hathidah in Patna district and Simaria in Begusarai district was inaugurated in 1959 by Jawaharlal Nehru, prime minister of India, and Shri Krishna Sinha.^[5] The bridge was constructed by Braithwaite, Burn & Jessop Construction Company. It is about 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) long and carries a two-lane road and a single-line railway track.^[6][7][8]

A new bridge, carrying the four-lane NH 31 and double-track rail, 25 metres 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 minister Narendra Modi on 12 March 2016.^[10][11] The new 1.9 km 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/s AFCONS Infrastructure Ltd by the Indian Railway Construction International Limited (IRCON) on an EPC contract basis. Construction has also started on a new six-lane road bridge, which has a span of 34 metres, parallel to it, which is supposed to become operational by December 2024.

See also

• List of longest bridges in the world
• List of longest bridges above water in India
• Digha–Sonpur bridge
• List of bridges in India

References

Network lines
Sections

National network / trunk lines	Grand Chord Howrah–Delhi main line Howrah–Allahabad–Mumbai line Sahibganj loop Barauni–Guwahati line Howrah–Gaya–Delhi line
Lines around Patna	Patna–Mughalsarai section Patna–Gaya line Asansol–Patna section Bakhtiyarpur–Tilaiya line
Lines around Gaya	Howrah–Gaya–Delhi line Gaya–Kiul line Asansol–Gaya section Patna–Gaya line
Lines around Muzaffarpur	Barauni–Gorakhpur, Raxaul and Jainagar lines Barauni–Samastipur–Muzaffarpur–Hajipur line Muzaffarpur–Gorakhpur line (via Hajipur, Raxaul and Sitamarhi) Muzaffarpur–Gorakhpur main line Muzaffarpur–Hajipur section Samastipur–Muzaffarpur section Muzaffarpur–Sitamarhi section Barauni–Samastipur section Muzaffarpur–Chhapra line (under construction) Muzaffarpur–Darbhanga line (under construction) Muzaffarpur–Janakpur Road line (under construction)
Lines around Barauni	Barauni–Katihar section Barauni–Samastipur section Barauni–Guwahati line Barauni–Gorakhpur, Raxaul and Jainagar lines Barauni–Samastipur–Muzaffarpur–Hajipur line Mokama–Barauni section

Rail bridges