Varanasi to Kolkata in 7 hours? New expressway NH319B to come up soon

Varanasi to Kolkata could soon take merely seven hours for those who want to drive. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) will soon start construction of the NH319B, code name approved for the upcoming Varanasi-Kolkata Expressway. The expressway will connect the two cities through states like Bihar and Jharkhand connecting several other cities in the region. The expressway will provide an alternative to the NH19 which serves as the key highway between Varanasi and Kolkata currently.

The NHAI has notified the upcoming Varanasi-Kolkata Expressway as the NH319B on Friday. The NHAI said the 610-km long expressway will connect four districts each of Bihar and Jharkhand before entering West Bengal through Purilia district. “The process of land acquisition would be expedited once the NHAI gave a distinctive identity," said one of the RCD engineers working on the project.

The expressway will reduce the distance between Varanasi and Kolkata by around 80 kms. Presently, the NH19 covers the distance in 690 kms. The new expressway, which will be south of NH19 and run parallel to it, will be a six-lane highway of 610 kms. The expressway will start from Chandaul, near Varanasi. Instead of going through Mughalsarai, the expressway will enter Bihar at Chand and exit at Imamganj in Gaya after covering a distance of about 160 kms.

NHAI is also likely to construct a tunnel in the Kaimur hills, which will be five kilomteres in length. The expressway will then cross the Sone river in Tilauthu of Sasaram to enter Aurangabad, along the Grand Trunk road. It will then enter Jharkhand from Hunterganj in Chatra and make an exit to West Bengal’s Purulia district after passing through Hazaribag and Ramgarh.

The Varanasi-Kolkata Expressway is likely to around ₹35,000 crore. “The cost of construction is likely to go a bid up as the NHAI has proposed almost a straight alignment of it," said a senior officer of NHAI, based at Patna.

According to NHAI, the upcoming expressway will reduce travel time between Varanasi and Kolkata to half. It currently takes around 12-14 hours to cover the distance through NH19.

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