Patna, June 25 : The Bihar government has thrown open to the public a four-lane JP Ganga expressway on Friday. The road connects Digha on the west side to Gandhi Maidan on central Patna covering a distance of 7.5 km all along the Ganga river. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has inaugurated his most ambitious road project -- JP Ganga expressway. This road will decongest the heavily congested Ashok Rajpath. Road Construction Minister Nitin Navin was also present with Bihar Chief Minister during the inauguration. Besides the JP Ganga e-way, Nitish Kumar also inaugurated phase 2 of Atal path and a railway over-bridge in Mithapur locality. "JP Ganga e-way is based on Mumbai's Marine drive. It was a highly ambitious project that was completed by the Bihar government and it will benefit the residents of Patna. The Mithapur railway over-bridge was a demand of residents for the last 19 years and it is also completed now. The idea is to make Patna a smart city and it is possible only when the road communication gets smooth and hassle free," Navin said. After the inauguration of JP Ganga e-way, commuters can reach from Digha to Gandhi Maidan in just 5 minutes. Earlier, the commuters used to take 30 to 45 minutes to reach from Digha to Gandhi Maidan through Ashok Rajpath. The JP Ganga e-way will also provide easy road connectivity to residents of localities adjoining Rajapur and Bakipur. The total length of JP Ganga e-way is 21 km from Digha to Didarganj in Patna at the estimated cost of Rs 3,381 crore. The first phase from Digha to Gandhi Maidan was inaugurated on Friday, and the construction on the rest of the phase is underway. The proposal of this project came up in 2011 and the foundation stone foundation was laid in 2013. /IANS