Patna, Oct. 20: Accepting the state government’s request, the Centre has decided to develop the 140km Khagaria-Purnea stretch of National Highway (NH-31) into a four-lane road scrapping its earlier plan of developing two lanes.

Road construction minister Nand Kishore Yadav told The Telegraph: “We had requested the Centre to reconsider its decision keeping the future traffic load in mind and were recently informed about the acceptance of our demand.”

Bihar had made this request because all the national highways leading to the Khagaria-Purnea stretch of NH-31 were being developed as four-lane roads. A two-lane stretch in between would have created a traffic bottleneck.

Fresh bids would be invited for developing the stretch as a four-lane road.

The Centre has also acceded to the demand of the state for central funds to repair the BP Mandal bridge at Dumri Ghat.

“The tender process for selecting the agency for the bridge has almost been finalised. The bridge would be in its original shape in a year,” a source in the road construction department said. A little over Rs 45 crore would be spent in the repair work, he said.

Around 50 lakh residents belonging to Saharsa, Madhepura and Supaul districts in Kosi region have been suffering big time after the movement of vehicles on the bridge was suspended.

The problem in the BP Mandal bridge, which was opened for public use in 1986, was first detected in August 2010. The expansion point near the 16th pillar had increased unexpectedly. This gap increased alarmingly in September last year, after which precautionary steps were taken. While the movement of heavy vehicles on the bridge was suspended on September 23 last year, that of light vehicles was stopped on November 5, 2010.

The state government tried to solve the problem constructing a sheet pile bridge at Dumri Ghat using its own resources. But it had to be closed for vehicular movement in June this year, a month after it was constructed, because of heavy water flow and erosion in Bagmati, which meets Kosi near the southern end of the bridge.

As water levels have started to recede, steps are being taken to reopen the alternative bridge in the end of November.