Bihar roads to be at par with United States by December 2024: Nitin Gadkari

After seeing Bihar’s tremendous growth in infrastructure, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari asserted that roads in Bihar will be at par with the US by December 2024, reports PTI.

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Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari asserted that the road infrastructure of Bihar will be at par with that of the United States by December 2024. The Union Minister Nitin Gadkari inaugurated the eastern flank of the reconstructed Mahatma Gandhi Setu over River Ganga in Hajipur. He launched and laid the foundation stone of national highway projects worth Rs 13,585 crores in the state.

"Roads are linked to the prosperity of a state and a country. There is no doubt that Bihar's road network has seen tremendous improvement in the last few years and I am sure it will improve further. I can say this with confidence that the state's road infrastructure will be at par with that of the US by 2024," Gadkari said. He quoted former US president John F Kennedy who had said, "American roads are not good because America is rich. America is rich because American roads are good." 

"Several mega projects related to Bihar will be completed soon, and the ministry is also in the process of finalising DPRs (detailed project reports) of some projects such as Buddhist, Jain, and Ram Janaki-Ayodhya circuits," he said. Gadkari also appealed to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to set up industrial clusters and smart cities along the expressways in the state.

The 5,750-metres-long Mahatma Gandhi Setu was inaugurated in 1982 by the then prime minister Indira Gandhi as the country's longest river bridge. It underwent repairs from 1999 to 2016, when the Centre approved its reconstruction plan.

Gadkari had on July 31, 2020, flagged off traffic on the western flank of the reconstructed bridge, the lifeline between North and South Bihar. The entire MG Setu reconstruction project was executed at Rs 1,742 crore.

He also laid the foundation stone for 10 other projects, including the four-lane greenfield 124-km Munger-Bhagalpur-Mirza Chowki highway and the six-lane 70-km Aurangabad-Chordaha highway during the day.

Addressing the gathering, the chief minister said, "The Bihar government has already fast-tracked the ongoing construction of all mega road, bridge, and highway projects and officials have been instructed to ensure completion within the specified time frame. The state administration is also very specific about maintenance of roads, bridges, and highways."

(With inputs from PTI)