The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has approved the construction of a new parallel double-lane bypass road—NH-419—connecting Jharkhand and West Bengal. The 65.3-kilometre road will stretch from Chowringhee More in Kulti, West Burdwan district, to Mihijam in Dhanbad district, Jharkhand, and will link NH-19 at both ends.
Currently, the six-laning of national highway 19 (formerly NH-2) is underway, expanding the existing four-lane Golden Quadrilateral highway—an ambitious project initiated by late Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to connect India’s four metro cities with high-speed corridors.
The NH-19 spans 1,453 kilometres between New Delhi and Kolkata and is regarded as the gateway to the east. With an annual vehicular growth rate exceeding 12 per cent, traffic congestion—especially at inter-state borders—has become a significant issue, often resulting in long queues.
To mitigate this bottleneck, the NHAI has proposed NH-419, a spur road of NH-19. Of the total 65.3 kilometres, 56.7 kilometres will fall within Jharkhand, and 8.6 kilometres within West Bengal.
The cabinet committee on economic affairs (CCEA), led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has already approved the Rs.145 crore NH-419 project from Kulti (West Bengal) to Govindpur (Jharkhand).
Though the project has been awarded to a contractor for the Golpahari–Pokria More stretch in Jharkhand (39.19 km), land acquisition has only recently begun in the office of the Rupnarayanpur BDO in West Burdwan district.
Dr Ajoy Poddar, MLA of Kulti, stated that the project—under the central government’s Bharatmala Pariyojana—will be a game-changer for the Bengal–Jharkhand border, particularly in the Asansol–Dhanbad region. “Not only will it help avoid the chronic traffic congestion on both sides of the border, but it will also unlock new developmental opportunities along the upcoming double-lane corridor,” he said.
According to NHAI officials, the project will bring both tangible benefits (such as escalation of land prices) and intangible benefits (such as lifestyle improvements).
The proposed highway is also expected to boost the local tourism circuit by providing smoother access to destinations like Kalyaneshwari Temple, Maithon Dam, the heritage Begunia Temple, Ghagarburi Temple, Chandrachur Temple, Joychandi Hills, and others.