Connectivity to Patna in 3 hours by 2027: CM Nitish Kumar-led government takes a big target to improve road network in Bihar

Under the leadership of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, several key schemes are being carried out in the transport and road construction sectors in Bihar. The Road Construction Department is constantly striving to improve the condition of roads in the state, remove bottlenecks, and facilitate people's travel. The Chief Minister has set many important goals to reduce the travel time from remote areas of the state to the capital Patna. To achieve these goals, special attention is being paid not only to road construction but also to the construction of high-speed corridors and expressways, which will improve the state's traffic infrastructure and ensure the state's development.

Earlier, the Chief Minister had set a time of 6 hours to reach the capital Patna from any point located in the state, which was achieved through the construction, development and proper maintenance of roads under the leadership of the Chief Minister. Thereafter, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar set a target for the Road Construction Department to reach the capital Patna from the remote place of the state in 5 hours. The Road Construction Department is determined to achieve this target set by the Chief Minister by the end of this year. After this, the Road Construction Department is working towards the target of 3/3.30 hours to reach Patna from any place in the state by the end of the year 2027.

Some important steps have been taken to give this thinking of the Chief Minister a real shape. The steps to be implemented by the Bihar Road Construction Department in the coming days are as follows-

(1) Increasing the length of National Highways in the State:

The density of National Highways in the state is much less than the national average. For this, there is a need to increase the total length of National Highways in the state to 13000 km. For this, the Government of India has been requested to declare 2511 km of State Highways and 4329 km of Major District Roads (total 6840 km) as National Highways. Also, a request has been made to develop about 186 km single lane National Highways in the state into 2-lane (10 m) with paved shoulders as per national standards.

(2) Removal of obstructions in roads:

For this, the state government is continuously making efforts to remove obstructions and in a phased manner, the work of developing or reconstructing the paths and making necessary improvements for safe travel is being done. In the light of the above, construction will be completed this year to remove the following important obstructions:-

(a) Construction work of Muzaffarpur bypass - 15 February 2025.

(b) 4-lane new construction work and Tvt of Bakhtiyarpur - Mokama path - 15 February 2025

(c) Construction work of 6-lane new bridge on Ganga River between Aunta - Simaria - 15 February 2025

(d) New construction work of the remaining path of 2.80 km length between Saristabad - Nathupur - June 2025. Construction work of the 4-lane Patna - Gaya - Dobhi has almost been completed.

(e) Construction of 4-lane bridge over Gandak River on Hajipur - Chhapra road - November 2025

Apart from this, efforts are being made to make the route to reach Patna easier by completing the construction work of the following sections: -

(a) Construction of Patna - Bihta - Koilwar section.

(b) Construction of Bakarpur - Manikpur green area on the right line.

(4) Construction of High-Speed Corridor and Expressway:

East-West Expressway/High-Speed Corridor:

The following routes have been constructed in North Bihar to reach from the eastern end of the state to the western end:-

(1) East-West Corridor (NHW No.-27, East-West Corridor)

In addition to the above, the construction of the following high-speed corridor/expressway will be started soon: -

(1) Gorakhpur-Siliguri Expressway (416 km, 23434 crores)

(2) Patna-Purnia Expressway (282 km, 18242 crores)

(3) 4-lane construction of Ramjanaki Marg and NHW-139W (Patna-Bettiah)

Similarly, the following routes have been constructed to go from east to west in South Bihar:-

(1) Grand Trunk Road (NHW No.-19, Golden Quadrilateral)

In addition to the above, the following high-speed corridor/expressway will be started soon:-

(1) Grand Trunk Road (NHW No.-19, Golden Quadrilateral) Construction of corridors/expressways will be started soon:-

(a) Varanasi - Ranchi - Kolkata Expressway

(b) Buxar—Patna—Mokama - Munger—Bhagalpur—Mirzachowki 4-lane road: Construction of Buxar to Koilwar and Patna Bakhtiyarpur has been completed. Construction of elevated roads on Koilwar—Patna, Bakhtiyarpur—Mokama, and Munger—Bhagalpur—Mirzachowki is in progress. Also, approval for green area routing of Mokama-Munger has been received.

(c) Buxar - Bhagalpur Expressway

North - South Expressway / High-Speed Corridor:

High-speed corridors are being constructed on the following tri-pronged alignment in the state: -

(1) Amas - Ramnagar - Kalyanpur - Darbhanga Green Zone Path

(2) Raxaul - Haldia Expressway

(3) Apart from this, the state government is requesting for construction of Pashupatinath - Baidyanath Dham High Speed Corridor and Narayani Ganga Corridor.

High-Speed Corridor - Others:

The State Government has also requested the Government of India to construct Forbesganj - Kahalgaon - Barahat Corridor and Nawada - Warsaliganj - Mokama - Barauni - Jhanjharpur - Ladniya Corridor.

The construction work of Narenpur - Purnia 4-lane road, Galgalia - Bahadurganj - Araria 4-lane road, Piprakothi - Raxaul 2-lane road, Kanhauli - Ramnagar 6-lane road of Patna Ring Road, Ara - Mohania 4-lane road has been completed. The construction work of 5 km long 4-lane elevated corridor in Begusarai and 3 km long 4-lane elevated corridor in Gopalganj city is in progress in the state.

(5) Railway ROB:

Along with this, the construction of 250 additional roads over bridges is proposed for smooth, safe and uninterrupted traffic for the upgradation of railway crossings on departmental roads within the state. Out of these, the tonnage is more than one lakh at 47 places and more than 50 thousand at 97 places.

(6) Construction of large bridges on major rivers:

The state of Bihar is located in the catchment area of rivers originating from the Himalayas and many rivers like Son also flow in South Bihar. Due to this, the construction of bridges is important for smooth traffic.

6(a) The following bridges have already been constructed on Ganga in the state:-

(1) Bridge on Ganga River at Buxar (2-lane)

(2) 4-lane bridge on Ganga River between Ara - Chhapra

(3) Digha-Sonpur Rail-cum-Road Bridge (2-lane)

(4) Mahatma Gandhi Bridge (4-lane)

(5) Rail-cum-Road Bridge (Rajendra Bridge) at Mokama (2-lane)

(6) Rail-cum-Road Bridge (Shri Krishna Bridge) at Munger (2-lane)

(7) Vikramshila Bridge at Bhagalpur (2-lane)

6(b) Construction of the following bridges on Ganga River is in progress:-

(1) Dighwara-Sherpur 6-lane bridge

(2) 6-lane bridge parallel to J.P. Bridge

(3) 4-lane bridge parallel to the Mahatma Gandhi Bridge

(4) Kachi Dargah - Bidupur 6-lane bridge between

(5) Bakhtiyarpur - Tajpur 4-lane bridge

(6) 6-lane bridge between Aunta - Simaria

(7) 4-lane bridge between Agwanighat - Sultanganj

(8) 4-lane bridge parallel to Vikramshila Setu

(9) 4-lane bridge between Sahebganj - Manihari

In addition, the construction of road will be started soon to provide connectivity to Janeshwar Mishra Setu from Dumraon through a spur. The construction of an additional 3-lane bridge on the Ganga River parallel to the existing bridge in Buxar will be started soon. Also, a 6-lane bridge will be constructed between Matihani - Samho on the Raxaul-Haldia route and a proposal for the construction of a 4-lane bridge on the Ganga River in Kahalgaon has been sent to the Government of India.

6(c) Among other important rivers flowing in the state, the following bridges are already constructed over the Son river:-

(1) 4-lane bridge between Barun and Dehri-on-Sone on GT Road

(2) 4-lane bridge between Daudnagar - Nasriganj

(3) 2-lane bridge between Arwal - Sahar

(4) Koilwar 6-lane new bridge

(5) Rail-cum-road bridge at Koilwar

In addition, the construction of a 2-lane bridge at Panduka on the Son river is in progress and the construction of the following bridges will be started soon:-

(1) Construction of bridge on the Varanasi - Ranchi - Kolkata alignment

(2) Construction of bridge on the Patna - Ara - Sasaram alignment

6(d) The following bridges are already constructed over the Gandak river flowing in the state:-

(1) Rail-cum-road bridge at Chittauni

(2) Road bridge at Dhanaha - Ratwal alignment 2-lane bridge between

(3) 2-lane bridge between Bettiah-Gopalganj

(4) Dumriaghat bridge on East-West Corridor

(5) 2-lane bridge between Chakia-Kesaria-Sattarghat

(6) 3-lane bridge at Bangraghat

(7) 2-lane bridge at Rewaghat

6(e) Apart from this, the construction of 4-lane bridge at Hajipur on Gandak river, 4-lane bridge at Konhwaghat on NH-139W alignment and 2-lane bridge parallel to the existing bridge at Dumriaghat is in progress and the construction of the following bridges will be started soon:-

(1) Construction of new 4-lane bridge on VTR bypass

(2) NH-727 at Patjirwa. Construction of 4-lane bridge on alignment of Kosi river

(3) Construction of 6-lane bridge on alignment of Gorakhpur-Siliguri

(4) Construction of 4-lane bridge at Sattarghat on alignment of Ramjanaki Marg

6(f) The following bridges are already constructed on Kosi river flowing in the state:-

(1) Kosi Mahasetu 4-lane on East-West Corridor

(2) Baluaha Ghat Bridge 2-lane between Gandoul-Biraul

(3) B.P. Mandal Bridge 2-lane at Dumrighat

(4) Vijay Ghat Bridge 4-lane

(4) 2-lane on NH-31 at Kursela

6(g) Besides this, the construction of bridge near Thana Behpur on alignment of NH-527A at Bheja-Bakaur and NH-106 at Phulout over Kosi river is in progress and construction of following bridges will be started soon :-

(1) Construction of a 6-lane bridge on the Gorakhpur-Siliguri alignment

(2) 6-lane bridge near Simri-Bakhtiarpur on Patna-Purnia alignment

(3) Additional 4-lane bridge at Kursela

6(h) Besides this, the construction of bridges on Kosi river at Bheja-Bakaur on NH-527A and near Thana Bihpur on NH-106 alignment at Phulaut is in progress and the construction of the following bridges will be started soon:-

(1) Construction of 6-lane bridge on Gorakhpur-Siliguri alignment

(2) 6-lane bridge near Simri-Bakhtiarpur on Patna-Purnia alignment

(3) Additional 4-lane bridge at Kursela

Similarly other road projects:

(7) Under Saat Nischay Part-2 - Sulabh Samparkta, construction of 25 bypass roads has been approved, out of which 9 bypasses are complete and the remaining are under construction.

(8) Similarly, under the National Highway subdivision, construction of 14 bypasses is in progress for cities like Sheikhpura, Jamui, Banka, Katoria etc. on NH-333A. It is proposed to construct a bypass of Bettiah city on the alignment of NH No. 139W.

(9) The following schemes are being implemented for smooth traffic within important cities:-

(1) Mithapur - Mahuli Elevated Path

(2) Double Decker Flyover in Chhapra City

(3) Double Decker Flyover in Ashok Rajpath in Patna City

(4) J.P. Ganga Path from Digha to Didarganj