Patna: Bihar will get its first expressway, between Buxar and Bhagalpur, if National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) finds the proposal submitted by the state government feasible.
The NHAI has been told to do the feasibility study of the expresway proposal by Union minister for road transport and highways (MoRTH) Nitin Gadkari when a delegation of the road construction department (RCD), led by deputy chief minister Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, met him in New Delhi on Thursday.
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A senior officer of the RCD, who was present in the meeting said that the Union minister had given an in-principle agreement for the expressway project after the Thursday meeting. He said that Buxar-Bhagalpur expressway would be a green field project in addition to other proposed four-lane expressways like Gorakhpur-Siliguri, Raxaul-Haldia via Patna and Amas-Darbhanga access-controlled highways.
The expressway is designed for allowing vehicles to run at the speed of 120kmph while the access-controlled highways have the permissible speed limit of the vehicles up to 100kmph. “These roads are designed in such a way to allow high-speed drive with safety,” explained the officer.
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Gadkari told the Bihar delegation, led by Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, who also holds the road construction department, that the NHAI would soon float the tender to engage reputed and competent construction firm to build the six-lane bridge on the river Ganga, parallel to the JP Setu at the cost of ₹3,000 crore. The Union minister said that since it was a mega project, entailing an expenditure of more than ₹2,000 crore, it required the approval of the Prime Minister’s office (PMO). “The PMO has cleared the project and it will seen be processed for the Union cabinet nod,” said Gadkari.
Besides, the MoRTH minister assured that the long-delayed Patna-Gaya-Dobhi four-lane road (NH-83) project would be complete by the year-end for vehicular operations. The Central minister was also urged to complete ongoing road project on Chapra-Hajiour stretch of NH-19, Muzaffapur bypass, which is part of Hajipur-Muzaffarpur NH-77, Maheshkhut-Saharsa-Purnia (NH-107) and Birpur-Udakishanganj-Bihpur (NH106).
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The RCD official said that the Buxar-Bhagalpur expressway, if approved by the MoRTH, would be connected to 343-km-long Purvanchal Expressway, originating from Chand Sarai in Lucknow to Haidaria in Ghazipur. On request of the Bihar’s deputy CM, Gadkari said that work on Danapur-Bihta elevated road would commence soon as the tender for the project would be finalised by the month-end.
Additional chief secretary, RCD, Bihar, Pratyay Amrit, Kundan Kumar, resident commissioner, Bihar Bhawan, Amrendra Kumar, executive engineer, NH Wing, RCD and Bhaskar Mishra, superintending engineer-cum-liosoning officer, RCD, formed the Bihar delegation. Director general and additional secretary, MoRTH, Ravi Kumar, member and additional director general, MoRTH, VK Rajawat, chief general manager, NHAI, LP Padhi and chief engineer, NHAI, PR Meena represented the MoRTH in the meeting, which continued for more than an hour.
Talking to media persons after the meeting, Tejashwi Prasad Yadav said that Gadkari was the man in Union cabinet, who interacts in a very positive manner. “We have demanded an expressway in Bihar, which the state lacks as of now. We have also requested the MoRTH minister to step up work on various pending road projects,” said Yadav. The Bihar deputy CM was offered a ride on hydrogen-powered car of Gadkari from the meeting venue to Bihar Bhawan.
