PATNA: Movement of heavy vehicles on the dilapidated Mahatma Gandhi Setu will be prohibited from Monday. Buses will, however, be allowed to ply on the bridge, which is undergoing rehabilitation.“Trucks carrying sand and stone aggregates and other heavy vehicles having more than 12 wheels will not be allowed to ply on the bridge from Monday,” Patna DM Kumar Ravi told TOI on Sunday. Such vehicles – mostly trucks and tractors – will now use either the newly constructed Ara-Chhapra bridge or the Rajendra Setu at Mokama.Patna traffic SP P N Mishra said posters and banners would be put up at different places on the approach roads leading to Gandhi setu to inform commuters about the restrictions.The decision to prohibit heavy vehicles on the bridge has been taken following a recent meeting convened by chief secretary Anjani Kumar Singh. Patna SSP Manu Maharaaj and SPs of Vaishali, Saran and Bhojpur districts had also attended t he meeting.Road construction minister Nand Kishor Yadav said agencies looking after the rehabilitation of the 35-year-old bridge had recommended restriction of movement of heavy vehicles on it.“As vehicles from both sides are using the eastern flank since commencement of rehabilitation work on the bridge in February last year, gaps between different spans on that flank have widened. Accordingly, it had been recommended that heavy vehicles should not be allowed to ply on the bridge until the completion of the rehabilitation work,” the minister added.While heavy vehicles have been barred from using the bridge, private vehicles and auto-rickshaws can use the pontoon bridge underneath the Setu even at night. “Round-the-clock vehicular movement on the pontoon bridge has already started. Lights have been installed underneath the Setu for this purpose,” the Patna DM said.

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