New Delhi, Aug 19 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Friday inaugurate a highway project connecting Aunta (Mokama)-Simaria (Begusarai) that includes a 1.865-km bridge over the Ganga, according to an official statement.

The project will provide direct connectivity between Mokama in Patna district and Begusarai.

The new bridge has been constructed parallel to the old two-lane rail-cum-road bridge 'Rajendra Setu'.

This almost seven-decade-old Rajendra Setu is under repair, restricting heavy vehicle movement, it said.

With the opening of the bridge, heavy vehicles will save up to 100 km of detour while travelling between regions of north Bihar (Begusarai/ Supaul, Madhubani, Araria, etc) and south Bihar (Patna, Seikhpura, Nawada, Lakhisarai, etc).

The bridge will also provide better connectivity to the famous pilgrimage place of Simaria Dham, which is also the birthplace of famous poet Ramdhari Singh Dinkar. PTI BKS TRB