Patna, May 23 : Fresh concerns over bridge safety in Bihar have emerged after structural issues were reported on the Jadopur-Mangalpur Mahasetu, a key bridge connecting Gopalganj and Bettiah.

Following the detection of a gap in one of the bridge spans, the district administration has imposed an immediate ban on the movement of heavy vehicles across the bridge, officials said on Saturday.

At present, only light and small vehicles are being allowed to cross under strict monitoring and with caution to prevent any untoward incident.

Gopalganj District Magistrate Pawan Kumar Sinha said the structural gap observed in the bridge is a matter of serious concern and warned that delay in repairs could worsen the condition and make restoration more difficult.

According to District Magistrate Sinha, expert teams from the National Institute of Technology and the Indian Institute of Technology, Patna, are being called to conduct a detailed technical assessment and safety inspection of the bridge.

He said that the expert team will inspect the structure, identify the causes behind the cracks and gaps, and recommend immediate repair measures.

The Jadopur-Mangalpur Mahasetu stretches nearly 1.92 km and serves as an important transport link between Gopalganj and Bettiah.

The bridge significantly reduced travel distance between the two districts by nearly 120 km and is considered a lifeline for hundreds of villages located in the riverine Diara regions.

Officials noted that the bridge had earlier faced issues in 2020 when flooding and river pressure caused cracks in the approach road.

Those damages were later repaired, and additional road connectivity works were undertaken in 2023 and 2024.

Constructed at an estimated cost of around Rs 550 crore, the bridge was inaugurated during 2015â??16 by the then Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

The emergence of major structural concerns within a decade of inauguration has now raised fresh questions over construction quality, long-term maintenance, and monitoring of infrastructure projects in the state.

Earlier, a section of the Vikramshila Bridge in Bhagalpur district collapsed which led to criticism of the Bihar government.

Now, the repair work on the damaged section is underway.

/IANS