Patna, Aug. 1: The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) will soon begin a study to prepare the feasi- bility report for a new bri- dge across the Ganga which would connect Patna and Vaishali districts.

The study has been ordered in wake of the “in-principle” consent of the Union ministry of road transport and highways for submission of a proposal to construct the new bridge.

According to the proposal, the bridge would have its southern end near the Kachchi Dargah in Patna and the northern end near the Ragopur diara in Vaishali district.

A proposal in this regard was put forward during the recent visit of the secretary to the ministry, A.K. Upadhyay. The proposal suggests the bridge under the public-private-partnership (PPP) mode. Under the plan, private investors will be allowed to collect toll from the bridge to recover the amount invested in constructing the bridge.

“The road transport and highways secretary observed that the plan prima facie looks convincing. He suggested that the road construction department/NHAI send a proposal on these lines to the ministry for consideration,” a senior road construction department official told The Telegr- aph under condition of anonymity.

He said that follo- wing the consent of Upad- hyay, it had been decided to conduct a feasibility study on the basis of which the proposal would be sent to the Centre.

“The feasibility study would be completed within two months,” the official added.

Explaining the need for the proposal, the official said: “We intend to use the proposed bridge for movement of commercial and heavy vehicles while movement of lighter vehicles would be routed through the existing Gandhi Setu. It would reduce traffic congestion as well as reduce the vehicular load on Gandhi Setu which is more than 25 years old.”

The official said given the pressure of commer- cial and heavy vehicles, private investors would not have much problem in investing money in the project as it would be a lucrative proposal for them.

According to estimates, at present, more than 10,000 heavy vehicles cross the Gandhi Setu daily.

These vehicles account for the lion’s share of the Rs 9 crore monthly toll collected on Gandhi Setu.

According to the pro- posal, the construction of the new bridge could be clubbed with the work rela- ted to replacement of the super-structure of Gandhi Setu as part of its rehabilitation and given to the same investor, making the plan more attractive.

“This would allow the investor to collect toll on both bridges making things more lucrative from an investment point of view,” said the road construction department official.