Gorakhpur-Siliguri Expressway: Improving connectivity to the Northeast
Siliguri is the third largest city in West Bengal with a population of around 1.1 million and is a city connecting the Northeast to other parts of India. The city of temples, Gorakhpur, has also been undergoing rapid transformation under the Yogi government and is becoming a major metropolis.
With massive infrastructural growth going around both in Siliguri and Gorakhpur, the need for better connection to the cities will be partly fulfilled by the upcoming Gorakhpur-Siliguri Expressway. At present, there’s no direct road between Gorakhpur and Siliguri and takes around 15-hour to travel between the two cities. The upcoming Gorakhpur-Siliguri Expressway aims to significantly reduce travel time and distance.
Planned under the Bharatmala Pariyojana, it will be a four-lane highway covering around 519.5 kms. This greenfield expressway will run parallel to the Nepal border passing through three states covering 84.3 kilometers in Uttar Pradesh, 416.2 kilometers in Bihar, and 18.97 kilometers in West Bengal. There’s a future possibility that it could be extended up to Guwahati, Assam.
The Gorakhpur-Siliguri Expressway will be a controlled-access highway, which means it’s designed to have limited entry and exit points for safety and efficiency. The expressway will be connected to the 500 km Bareilly-Gorakhpur Expressway, forming a continuous highway.
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) initiated this project in 2021. The land acquisition process for this project started in May 2022 and the expressway is expected to be completed by 2028. The project’s estimated cost is Rs 32,000 crores, which will be divided into five packages.
The expressway will benefit real estate, tourism, and industries in the three states. It’s expected to increase employment opportunities. The reduced distance will improve city-to-city transportation. The expressway will facilitate trade and open new commercial opportunities. Industrial corridors along the route will boost development in UP, West Bengal, and Bihar.
The Gorakhpur-Siliguri Expressway project is an initiative of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adiyanath. It aims to connect Uttar Pradesh with the North East region. The Detailed Project Report has been prepared by LN Malviya Infra Projects Private Limited. A preliminary survey was conducted to ensure obtaining land with suitable widths for the expressway.
