What are National Expressways, why did Patna-Purnia Expressway get this status?

National Expressway: The only road in Bihar running between Patna and Purnia districts has been given the status of National Expressway by the National Highway Authority. You must have heard a lot about highways and expressways, but what is a National Expressway? When does any road get this status and how many National Expressways are running in the country or is this the only National Expressway located in Bihar. What is the difference between Highway, Expressway and National Expressway?

The status of National Expressway is given to those roads in the country whose standards are very high. Apart from being high speed, this expressway is also equipped with access controlled. These roads are especially made for long distances and to travel at high speed. Generally the speed of an expressway is 100 kilometers per hour, but the speed of the National Expressway is more than 120 kilometers. The speed of many national expressways is around 130 to 140 kilometers per hour.

What is the specialty of National Expressway?

• The status of National Expressway is given to only those expressways whose average speed is 120 km per hour or more.
• This expressway has at least 6 lanes, which can also be 8 lanes in future.
• There is no side entry on this type of expressway, only fully interchange or access controlled entry is available.
• There are no crossings on such roads, there are only flyovers and underpasses.
• There is no slow vehicle lane like tractor, bike or cycle lane on such roads.

How to get National Expressway status

• Only when a road meets the standards of the Indian Road Congress or the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways is it given the status of National Expressway.
• Such roads are made to run at a speed of 120 kilometers per hour.
• These roads generally connect two or more states and are heavily trafficked.
• Only after fulfilling all these standards, the Highway Ministry and the National Highway Authority give the status of National Expressway to a road.

Specialty of Patna-Purnia Expressway
A greenfield expressway of about 282 kilometers has been built from Patna to Purnia, which got the status of National Expressway in August itself. It has been given the status of National Expressway-9 or NE-9. This is the first expressway in Bihar, which is built within the entire state boundaries and meets high standards. This expressway connects Seemanchal districts like Purnia, Katihar, Kishanganj and Araria with the capital Patna. Due to this, the time taken between Purnia and Patna has also reduced from 7-8 hours to just 3 hours. It has cost about Rs 18 thousand crores to prepare it.

How many national expressways are there in the country?

• The 1,386 kilometer Delhi-Mumbai Expressway has got the status of National Expressway.
• The 650 kilometer road being built from Delhi to Katna has also got the status of National Expressway.
• The 594 km Ganga Expressway being built from Meerut to Prayagraj has also achieved this achievement.
• Delhi-Dehradun Expressway, which is 210 kilometers long, has also got the status of National Expressway.
• The 262 km expressway being built from Bangalore to Chennai has also got the status of National Expressway.
• The 701 km Samriddhi Expressway, which runs from Nagpur to Mumbai, has also achieved this achievement.