New Koilwar Bridge should not be confused with Koilwar Bridge.
| Bridge Name: | New Koilwar Bridge |
| Official Name: | Vashishtha Narayan Setu |
| Carries: | Arrah-Patna (NH-922) (old NH-30) |
| Crosses: | Sone river |
| Locale: | Koilwar, Bhojpur, Bihar |
| Maint: | National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) |
| Builder: | SP Singla Constructions Pvt. Ltd. |
| Spans: | 74 |
| Length: | [1] |
| Lanes: | 6 |
| Begin: | January 2018 |
| Complete: | 14 May 2022 (all 6-lanes) |
| Open: | 10 December 2020 (3-lanes) |
| Coordinates: | 25.5695°N 84.8014°W |
New Koilwar Bridge, (officially Vashishtha Narayan Setu) at Koilwar in Bhojpur is a 1.52 km long, 6-lane wide road bridge over the Sone river.[2] [3] It connects Arrah with Patna, the capital of Bihar state in India and also carries Buxar-Arrah-Patna national highway (NH-922). New Koilwar Bridge is named after Indian mathematician and Padma Shri awardee Vashishtha Narayan Singh (1946–2019). New Koilwar Bridge is 500 metres north and parallel to the existing 2-lane wide Koilwar Bridge. The construction work of all 6-lanes completed and Bridge is fully opened to public on 14 May 2022.
In December 2020, Government of India has approved a 4-lane wide elevated road from Bharauli near Buxar of Bihar to Haydaria in Ghazipur of Uttar Pradesh. Upon its completion, Patna will be connected with Lucknow via New Koilwar bridge, Buxar-Ghazipur elevated road and the Purvanchal Expressway.[4]
The Koilwar Bridge, a 2-lane wide road-cum-rail bridge was built by East Indian Railway Company and became operational on 4 November 1862. Since it was narrow and getting older there was a huge traffic movement problem, there was a need for an alternate road bridge to solve this issue. After 158 years, on 10 December 2020 Nitin Gadkari the Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways inaugurated the New Koilwar Bridge via video-conferencing from New Delhi.[5]
The 6-lane New Koilwar Bridge is a part of Government of India's initiative to connect New Delhi with Patna (via Lucknow) in order to improve transportation facilities and trade & commerce activities in the state of Bihar.[6] New Delhi is already connected to Ghazipur in Uttar Pradesh by various expressways and upon the completion of 'Buxar-Ghazipur elevated road', people can travel till Patna in Bihar by Buxar-Arrah-Patna national highway (NH-922).
List of expressways and highways connecting New Delhi with Agra, Lucknow and Patna.
| Sr. No. | Name of Road | from | to | Distance in km | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Delhi | Noida | 6.0 | ||
| 2 | Noida–Greater Noida Expressway | Noida | Greater Noida | 24.5 | |
| 3 | Greater Noida | Agra | 165.5 | ||
| 4 | Agra | Lucknow | 302.2 | ||
| 5 | Lucknow Ring Road | Sarosa Bharosa | Chand Saray | 32 | |
| 6 | Lucknow | Ghazipur | 340.8 | ||
| 7 | Ghazipur–Buxar Elevated Road | Ghazipur | Buxar | 17.0 | |
| 8 | Buxar–Arrah–Patna (NH-922) | Buxar | Patna | 125.0 |
Note: Union Minister Nitin Gadkari announced on 28 August 2021 that the Government of India will construct Ghazipur–Arrah–Patna Expressway at an event in Arrah, Bihar.[7] [8]