PATNA, July 1 -- Bihar chief minister Samrat Choudhary met Union road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari in New Delhi on Monday and urged him to facilitate early approvals from the Central cabinet to a slew of major national highway projects worth nearly Rs.53,000 crore and stretching over 412 kilometres, officials said. The high-level meeting, attended by state road construction minister Kumar Shailendra and senior officials from both sides, focused on accelerating infrastructure development across Bihar. Choudhary pressed for speedy clearances, particularly for key expressway corridors and critical connectivity links that are expected to transform road travel in the state. Among the prominent proposals discussed were the six-laning of the Gorakhpur-Siliguri expressway corridor and the development of spurs linking Amas to Darbhanga via Bodh Gaya and Rajgir. The meeting also reviewed progress on several road over bridges (RoBs), bypasses and widening works on important national highways. Gadkari gave a positive hearing to the state's demands and directed officials to fast-track the remaining formalities. According to state government sources, broad agreement was reached on multiple flagship initiatives, including the 245-km six-lane greenfield Patna-Purnia expressway (NE-9), estimated at over Rs.31,900 crore, and a 42-km section of the Varanasi-Ranchi-Kolkata greenfield highway. Other projects that received encouraging signals include the four-laning of the Muzaffarpur-Sitamarhi-Sonbarsa stretch, a new Gandak river bridge with approach roads connecting to Uttar Pradesh and an elevated corridor in Patna to ease city traffic. Senior officials indicated that roughly 412 km of roads involving an investment of about Rs.53,000 crore have moved forward in the approval pipeline. Discussions also covered the Buxar-Bhagalpur expressway, widening of the Muzaffarpur-Barauni and Bariarpur-Jamui corridors and pending segments on NH-139. A new proposal for a riverside road along the northern bank of the Ganga from Vikramshila Setu towards Patna was also tabled, with Gadkari showing interest in the concept similar to the ongoing Munger-Sabour project. CM Choudhary described the meeting as a 'decisive turning point' for Bihar's road sector. "With the full support of the Centre under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership, these projects will not only improve connectivity within the state but also open new avenues for trade and economic growth with neighbouring regions," he said. He assured that once approvals are in hand, the state government would move swiftly on land acquisition and other pre-construction formalities to ensure timely execution. The outcome of the meeting is being seen as a shot in the arm for Bihar's infrastructure push, with expectations that several long-pending proposals will now receive formal sanctions in the coming weeks. Gadkari is understood to have assured the Bihar delegation of his personal attention to expedite clearances, including through the Public Private Partnership Appraisal Committee where required. Officials from the state's road construction department, including secretary Pankaj Kumar Pal, were present during the nearly two-hour-long review....