MoRTH clears 600-km Gorakhpur-Siliguri NH project

The Union transport ministry has approved yet another expressway to Bihar, which will start from Gorakhpur in eastern UP to Siliguri in West Bengal with 600-km length and most of the expressway will pass through districts in north Bihar. The new road will prove to be a lifeline for those living in the region. It will not only make commuting between Bihar and Bengal easier but also lead to the new trading route. The central government has given in-principle approval for the expressway and the road construction ministry of Bihar will soon start its construction. Currently, there is no road connecting Gorakhpur with Siliguri, which is why it takes nearly a day to cover the distance between the two cities. The proposed expressway will reduce the distance between Gorakhpur and Siliguri to less than 600 km and around 416 km - will pass through north Bihar. The greenfield expressway will enter Bihar through Gopalganj, and pass through Siwan, Chhapra, Muzaffarpur, Sitamarhi, Madhubani, Supaul, Saharsa, Purnia, Kishanganj before reaching Siliguri. This will be a greenfield expressway and won't include any of the existing roads and will be the fourth expressway in Bihar as one such road is being constructed between Aurangabad and Jaynagar (in Madhubani district). A second one is being constructed between Raxaul and Patna, which will go to Kolkata. Another one is proposed between Buxar and Bhagalpur. The Gorakhpur-Siliguri expressway will be connected to Azamgarh and other cities in UP via link roads and will eventually make connectivity to Delhi easier.