PM to inaugurate Bihar’s Aunta-Simaria bridge project today

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Friday inaugurate the Aunta-Simaria bridge project on National Highway-31, a key infrastructure link expected to ease traffic and boost economic activity across Bihar.

The 8.15 -km project includes a 1.8- km six-laned bridge built over the Ganga at a cost of Rs 1,870 crore. It will directly connect Mokama in Patna district with Begusarai, providing a much-needed alternative to the ageing Rajendra Setu.

According to the officials, the new bridge has been constructed parallel to the two-laned rail-cum-road bridge, Rajendra Setu, which has long been in a dilapidated state. Owing to its poor condition, heavy vehicles have been forced to take long detours of over 100 km, leading to congestion in other stretches of the region.

Officials said the bridge would ease the movement of freight and cut down travel time for vehicles moving between north Bihar districts such as Begusarai, Supaul, Madhubani, Purnea and Araria, and South Bihar areas, including Sheikhpura, Nawada and Lakhisarai.

The government expects the project to give a push to the regional economy, particularly in north Bihar, which depends heavily on south Bihar and Jharkhand for raw material.

The inauguration comes as part of the Centre’s continued focus on strengthening road infrastructure in the state.

The PM will also inaugurate a series of metro projects in Kolkata, marking a major expansion of the city’s urban transport network.

A total of 13.61 km of newly constructed metro lines will be opened, with services set to begin immediately on these stretches. He will flag off the Noapara-Jai Hind Bimanbandar service from Jessore Road, providing direct Metro access to the Kolkata airport for the first time.

He will also inaugurate the Sealdah-Esplanade Metro service, which will cut down travel time between the two busy points from nearly 40 minutes to just 11 minutes. The Beleghata–Hemanta Mukhopadhyay section will be another key addition, offering improved connectivity to the city’s IT hub.

Alongside the new lines, a subway at the Howrah Metro Station will also be opened to the public.

Officials said the new services would link some of Kolkata’s most congested and high-traffic areas, ease pressure on road transport and strengthen multimodal links across the city. The network is expected to benefit lakhs of daily commuters and significantly reduce travel times.