The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has recently approved construction of the four-lane Sahebganj–Areraj–Bettiah section of NH-139W in Bihar under Hybrid Annuity Mode. Spanning 78.942 km, the greenfield corridor carries a total capital cost of Rs 3,822.31 crore.
Aimed at providing a high-speed, safe alternative to congested, geometrically deficient routes, the project improves connectivity between state capital Patna and Bettiah while serving North Bihar districts including Vaishali, Saran, Siwan, Gopalganj, Muzaffarpur, East Champaran and West Champaran up to areas near the Indo-Nepal border.
The alignment intersects seven PM Gati Shakti economic nodes, six social nodes, eight logistics nodes and nine major tourism/religious centres. Improved access to key heritage and Buddhist circuit sites—such as Kesariya Buddha Stupa (Sahebganj), Someshwarnath Mandir (Areraj), the Jain Mandir and Vishwa Shanti Stupa (Vaishali) and Mahavir Temple (Patna)—is expected to lift domestic and international tourism.
Designed for 100 km/h (with typical operating speeds around 80 km/h), the corridor is forecast to cut Sahebganj–Bettiah travel time from about 2.5 hours to roughly 1 hour, while enabling uninterrupted passage for freight and passenger traffic. Construction is projected to generate close to 14.22 lakh man-days of direct and 17.69 lakh man-days of indirect employment, with additional opportunities created through induced economic activity along the route.
