Mahatma Gandhi Setu
Mahatma Gandhi Setu, is a bridge over the river Ganges connecting Patna in the south to Hajipur in the north of Bihar. It was the longest river bridge in India at the time of its construction. It was inaugurated in May 1982 by the then Prime Minister, Mrs Indira Gandhi.Its length is 5,575 metres (18,291 ft) which makes it one of the longest bridges in the world. There are 48 pilers to this bridge.ArchitectureThis bridge was built by Gammon India Limited. It consists 46 spans of 121 metres (397 ft) each and 2 spans of 63 metres (207 ft) at each end. The deck provides for a 7.5 metres (25 ft) wide two lane roadway for IRC class 70 R loading with footpaths on either side. The cantilever segmental construction method is adopted to construct this mega bridge. 650 million or 65 crore (at 1972 prices of India) rupees of public tax money were spent on constructing this bridge.Notes Popularly known as Ganga Setu, It is the longest single river bridge in the world. The Indian postal department issued a commemorative postage stamp on Landmark Bridges Of India: Mahatma Gandhi Setu of denomination 0500 Paise on 17 August 2007. Currently this is part of National Highway 19. Before the bridge was constructed, people who wanted to go to north of Bihar, had to cross the river using boats or small ships or steamers or take a longer rail route.
