Center approves 454 km 4 Lane in Bihar | Bihar | 26 Apr 2023

Why in News?

According to the information received from the media on 25 April 2023, the Central Government has approved 4 new four-laning of 454 kilometers in Bihar. These four-lanes will pass through different areas.

Key Points

• Bihar will have a new four-laning of 454 km from Valmiki Nagar adjacent to the Indo-Nepal border to Hariharganj on the Jharkhand border. The Center has approved the conversion of the 143-kilometer National Highway -98 from Naubatpur to Hariharganj in Patna into a four-lane.
• It is known that at present the width of National Highway 98 is only 2 lanes. The pressure of vehicles on this highway is very high. This National Highway passes very close to the eastern end of the Son River and reaches Hariharganj via Bikram-Arwal-Aurangabad and Amba.
• This is a very convenient way for those going to Garhwa-Daltenganj and Chhattisgarh in the western end of Jharkhand state, due to which the pressure of vehicles on this highway remains constant.
• According to the information, the Central Government has now approved the preparation of DPR for constructing this National Highway 4 lane. Along with this, an amount of 1 crore 38 lakh has also been approved for this.
• The construction of 195 kilometer-long four-lane highway from Patna to Bettiah at a cost of 5 thousand 6 hundred crores has started. This National Highway is the main part of the Buddha Circuit. There is also a saffron Buddhist stupa on the side of this highway.
• Next to JP Setu, the tender for a 6-lane bridge between Patna's Digha-Sonpur to be built in three and a quarter years at a cost of 2 thousand 636 crores has been done. Apart from this, a tender of 868 crores has been floated for the construction of a bridge between Konhara Ghat in Saran to Jalalpur in Vaishali on the Gandak river in Sonpur Manikpur. The parts which are yet to be tendered include Manikpur to Sahebganj, Sahebganj to Areraj, and Areraj to Bettiah. The total cost of these three parts is going to be 2 thousand 159 crores.
• With the construction of this new four-lane, the journey from Valmikinagar to Hariharganj will be reduced from 11 hours to just 6 hours. Apart from this, Nepal will be directly connected to Palamu, Chapatra in the western part of Jharkhand. This will greatly facilitate transportation. The traders of Bihar and Jharkhand will be benefited by this.
• This lane will further connect directly to the Varanasi-Kolkata Expressway. Due to this, traders will be able to carry and bring goods. Apart from this, going towards Siliguri and Assam will be easier than ever before.
• A four-lane will also be constructed on the western side of the Gandak River from Sonpur to Areraj, which will facilitate traffic in 2 districts of Saran Commissionerate, Saran and Diara area of Gopalganj.