Gadkari announces new expressway for north-east
Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari unveiled plans for a new expressway linking Siliguri in West Bengal with Guwahati in Assam and Shillong in Meghalaya. The proposed 630-km highway corridor, along with an expressway between Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh and Siliguri, aims to enhance road connectivity between Uttar Pradesh and the North East.
The government expects these projects to shorten travel distances and times while boosting access to the strategically important Siliguri corridor. Gadkari announced the plans at an event in India, detailing the various sections and other road infrastructure projects planned in Assam. The Siliguri-Guwahati section will cost Rs 30,000 crore, while the Guwahati-Shillong route will reduce travel time from 2.5 hours to one hour.
The Shillong-Silchar highway will further cut journey time by half, from eight hours to four. Assam currently has 265 road projects covering 4,700 km with an estimated cost of nearly Rs 2 lakh crore.
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