Patna: Bihar Road Construction Minister Kumar Shailendra on June 8 conducted a high-level review of ongoing National Highway projects in the state and directed officials to expedite pending works while maintaining quality standards.
The meeting, held at the Road Construction Department’s conference hall, was attended by officials from National Highway divisions, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, and the National Highways Authority of India. Discussions focused on project progress, strengthening the highway network, and addressing land acquisition challenges.
National Highway Network and Ongoing Projects
Officials informed the minister that Bihar currently has a National Highway network of 6,819 kilometres. Of this, NHAI is responsible for 5,351 kilometres, while 2,714 kilometres are managed by the Roads Wing of the Road Construction Department.
According to the review, 41 National Highway projects covering a combined length of 1,634 kilometres are under construction. Key projects include the Varanasi-Ranchi-Kolkata Corridor, the Amas-Darbhanga Greenfield Corridor, the Danapur-Bihta-Koilwar-Buxar Elevated Corridor, the Patna Ring Road and the East-West Corridor.
Officials said the Varanasi-Ranchi-Kolkata Corridor is expected to improve connectivity between Bihar and major industrial centres.
Progress of Major Road Projects
The review noted that the 25.08-km Danapur-Bihta Elevated Project in Patna district has achieved 58.3 per cent physical progress.
Work on the Munger-Mirzachauki stretch is nearing completion, with 93 per cent of Package-2 (Khaira-Bhagalpur Bypass) and 93.6 per cent of Package-4 (Rasalpur-Mirzachauki) completed. Both packages are targeted for completion by July 2026.
Under the Chhapra-Patna-Bakhtiyarpur-Purnia corridor on NH-31, the Patna-Bakhtiyarpur, Bakhtiyarpur-Mokama and Aunta-Simariya sections, including a six-lane bridge over the Ganga, have already been completed.
In Begusarai, 96 per cent of work on the 4.2-km elevated corridor has been completed, with authorities targeting full completion by August 2026.
Meanwhile, under the Patna-Bettiah corridor project, construction progress stands at 42.25 per cent on the Bakapur-Manikpur section and 21.54 per cent on the Manikpur-Sahibganj section.
Review of Major Bridge Projects
The minister also reviewed the status of several key bridge projects, including a new four-lane bridge parallel to the existing Mahatma Gandhi Setu, the Digha-Sonpur Bridge, the parallel Vikramshila Setu and the Kosi-Phulaut Mega Bridge.
Officials reported that physical progress has reached 73 per cent for the Mahatma Gandhi Setu parallel bridge project, 14.55 per cent for the Digha-Sonpur bridge project, 50.15 per cent for the Vikramshila Setu parallel bridge and 94.4 per cent for the Kosi-Phulaut Mega Bridge.
The minister also reviewed progress on the Ram Janaki Marg, various bypass projects and the Gaya-Biharsharif four-lane road project.
Directives on Quality and Monitoring
Kumar Shailendra directed officials to ensure that projects nearing completion are finished within their scheduled timelines. He instructed departments to work closely with district administrations to resolve land acquisition and other local issues affecting project execution.
The minister stressed that road and bridge construction must adhere to high-quality standards and warned that negligence would not be tolerated.
He also directed officials to initiate action against agencies responsible for delays beyond approved timelines. To accelerate work, he called for increased manpower deployment and continuous monitoring of project sites.
Among other measures discussed were the use of river silt as an alternative to fly ash in construction activities and the installation of solar-powered cameras at bridge construction sites to enable monitoring from the state headquarters.
The meeting was attended by Road Construction Department Special Secretary Shailaja Sharma, along with senior NHAI officials and engineers.
