Jeep Safari at 22:25, 28 February 2025

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{{short description|Railway bridge in Rohtas, Bihar, India}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2020}}
{{Use British English|date=June 2011}}
{{Infobox Bridge
|bridge_name = Nehru Setu
|image = Nehru Bridge Rohtas.jpg
|caption =
|official_name =
|carries = [[Grand Chord]] railway track
|crosses = [[Son River]]
|locale = [[Dehri]]-Son Nagar
|maint =
|id =
|designer =
|design = Steel girders on stone pillars
|material = Stone & Steel
|spans = 93
|pierswater =
|mainspan = {{Convert|32.5|m}}
|length = {{Convert|3059|m}}
|width =
|height =
|load =
|clearance =
|below =
|traffic =
|begin =
|complete =
|open = 27 February 1900
|closed =
|toll =
|map_cue =
|map_image =
|map_text =
|map_width =
|coordinates = {{coord|24.8925|N|84.2162|E|}}
|lat =
|long =
}}
'''Nehru Setu''' is a railway bridge across the [[Son River]], connecting [[Dehri|Dehri-on-Son]] and [[Son Nagar]], in [[Bihar]].

==The Son river==
[[John Wardle Houlton|Sir John Houlton]], the veteran British administrator, who spent many years in the state, describes the Son as follows, "After passing the steep escarpments of the [[Kaimur hills|Kaimur range]], it flows straight across the plain to the Ganges. For much of this distance it is over two miles – and at one point, opposite Tilothu – three miles wide. In the dry weather there is vast expanse of sand, with a stream not more than a hundred yards wide, and the hot west winds pile up the sand on the east bank, making natural embankments. After heavy rain in the hills even this wide bed cannot carry the waters of the Son and disastrous floods in Shahabad, Gaya, and Patna are not uncommon".<ref name=houlton>{{cite book| last=Houlton| first=Sir John| title=Bihar, the Heart of India| url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.100326| pages=[https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.100326/page/n83 47]–48| publisher=Orient Longmans| year=1949}}</ref>

==The Grand Chord==
When the railway line between Kolkata and Delhi was first laid, it passed through Bhagalpur, Lakhisarai, Patna and Mughalsarai, covering a distance of 1,636 km. Subsequently, the [[Grand Chord]] line via Gaya reduced the distance by 80 km.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.telegraphindia.com/1061207/asp/jharkhand/story_7104699.asp| title=Grand rerun of Raj rail route – Railways enact Lord Minto's flag-off at Gujhandi to celebrate 100 years of Dhanbad-Gaya chord line| newspaper=The Telegraph| access-date=25 June 2011| location=Calcutta, India| first=Resham| last=Mukherjee| date=7 December 2006| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604145926/http://www.telegraphindia.com/1061207/asp/jharkhand/story_7104699.asp| archive-date=4 June 2011}}</ref> The main line crosses the Son over the [[Koilwar bridge]] and the Dehri-Son Nagar bridge accommodates the Grand Chord line.<ref name=houlton/>

Steel girders resting on 93 stone pillars, each a hundred feet apart, form the rail bridge. The total length of the bridge over abutments is {{Convert|3064|m}}.<ref name=omalley>{{cite book| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=iftaR6DVxIAC&q=Son+Bridge+Dehri&pg=PA166|title =Bihar and Orissa Gazetteers Sahabad|first=L.S.S.|last=O’malley |page=166| publisher=Dehri|isbn =9788172681227| via=Google Books|access-date =25 June 2011}}</ref> It was opened for traffic on 27 February 1900.<ref name=army/>
When it was built, it was the longest bridge in India and was believed to be the second longest bridge in the world.<ref name=omalley/><ref name=houlton/> Subsequently, longer road bridges were built but it remained the longest rail bridge for many years.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.thecolorsofindia.com/interesting-facts/infrastructure/longest-railway-bridge-in-india.html| title = Longest Railway Bridge in India| publisher = Colours of India| access-date = 25 June 2011| url-status = live| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110821060326/http://www.thecolorsofindia.com/interesting-facts/infrastructure/longest-railway-bridge-in-india.html| archive-date = 21 August 2011}}</ref><ref name=army>{{cite web | url = http://indianarmy.nic.in/Site/FormTemplete/frmTemp4P10C.aspx?MnId=Vc+cQKo89ws=&ParentID=Z5auAgQo/gw= | title = Indian Railways Some Fascinating Facts | publisher = Indian Army | access-date = 25 June 2011 | url-status = live | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20101216222432/http://indianarmy.nic.in/Site/FormTemplete/frmTemp4P10C.aspx?MnId=Vc+cQKo89ws%3D&ParentID=Z5auAgQo%2Fgw%3D | archive-date = 16 December 2010}}</ref> The opening of the 4.62 km Vembanad Rail Bridge, connecting the Container Transshipment Terminal on Vallarpadam Island to Edappally, in February 2011, pushed it to the second position.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://irse.forumco.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=1888 | title = Longest railway bridge in Kochi | publisher = ForumCo.com | access-date = 25 June 2011 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120323063453/http://irse.forumco.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=1888 | archive-date = 23 March 2012}}</ref>

==Surroundings==
[[Jawahar Setu]], the road bridge carrying [[National Highway 2 (India)|NH 2]] and running parallel to the Nehru Setu, was constructed in 1963–65.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://profiles.google.com/dehrionsoneindia#dehrionsoneindia/about |title = Dehri on Son, India| publisher=Google Profiles|access-date =25 June 2011 }}</ref>

The Government of Bihar sanctioned in 2008, a bridge across the Son River connecting [[Arwal]] and Sahar in [[Bhojpur district, Bihar|Bhojpur district]].<ref>{{cite web | url =http://www.thebihar.com/about-bihar/location/arwal/ | title =Arwal | website =The Bihar | date =31 March 2010 | access-date =3 July 2011 | url-status =live | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20100406060937/http://www.thebihar.com/about-bihar/location/arwal/ | archive-date =6 April 2010}}</ref>

The [[Koilwar bridge]] preceded the Nehru Setu and was opened in 1862.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://irsme.nic.in/files/mmfiles/BRIDGES_RRB.pdf|title=Bridges: The Spectacular Feat of Indian Railways|publisher=National Informatics Centre|access-date=5 July 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305002840/http://irsme.nic.in/files/mmfiles/BRIDGES_RRB.pdf|archive-date=5 March 2016}}</ref> A four-lane road bridge, carrying [[National Highway 30 (India)|NH 30]], parallel to the existing rail and road Koilwar Bridge, has been planned.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.telegraphindia.com/1110408/jsp/bihar/story_13823833.jsp| title=Four-lane connector over Sone, Ganga| newspaper=The Telegraph| access-date=25 June 2011| location=Calcutta, India| date=8 April 2011| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120626045202/http://www.telegraphindia.com/1110408/jsp/bihar/story_13823833.jsp| archive-date=26 June 2012}}</ref>

An anicut was constructed across the Son, a little upstream of the present Nehru Setu and Jawahar Setu, in 1873–74. The [[Indrapuri Barrage]] was constructed, 8 km upstream, and commissioned in 1968.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://oibsv2.iwmi.org/guidelines/India-Bihar_Upadhyaya.pdf | title = Performance Evaluation of Patna Main Canal | publisher = ICAR Research Complex for Eastern Region | access-date = 25 June 2011 | url-status = live | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120326060509/http://oibsv2.iwmi.org/guidelines/India-Bihar_Upadhyaya.pdf | archive-date = 26 March 2012}}</ref> Its distance from Aurangabad is approximately 15 km and 10 km from Dehri On Sone.

==See also==
*[[List of longest bridges in the world]]
*[[List of longest bridges above water in India]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Railways in Bihar}}
{{Son basin}}
{{Rivers in Bihar}}
{{Patna Division topics}}

[[Category:Bridges in Bihar]]
[[Category:Railway bridges in India]]
[[Category:Bridges completed in 1900]]
[[Category:Rohtas district]]
[[Category:1900 establishments in India]]
[[Category:Bridges over the Son River]]
[[Category:Dehri]]
[[Category:20th-century architecture in India]]

Nehru Setu - Revision history

Jeep Safari at 22:25, 28 February 2025