Bihar to get new expressways and ring roads

Bihar govt has planned to build four expressways, state highways and ring roads around important towns of the state to decongest traffic.

Under the Bharatmala Project (Phase-2), ₹29,000-crore six-lane Gorakhpur-Siliguri greenfield expressway which will have 416-km stretch in Bihar, ₹19,000-crore Varanasi-Kolkata greenfield expressway passing through Kaimur, Rohtas, Aurangabad and Gaya, ₹20,000-crore Raxaul-Haldia greenfield project via Raxaul, East Champaran, Muzaffarpur, Vaishali, Hajipur and Banka and the Patna-Ara-Sasaram greenfield expressway which will be connected to Ara ring road with a 12-km connecting road at an estimated cost of ₹381-crore, will give a major boost to the state.

Under the Bharatmala Project (Phase-1), 23 projects have been selected involving 1017-km road at an estimated cost of ₹23,240 crore and the contractor has been selected for five while tendering process is underway for three other projects. In the recent past, the centre government has built well-oiled roads even covering the Maoist-affected regions and also along the 729 kms long Indo-Nepal border starting from Madanpur in West Champaran and passing through several districts of the state. While the 167-km stretch is part of NH-104, construction and land acquisition are on for another 552-km stretch. All these projects are expected to be completed by December 2023.