Bihar Launches ₹10,590-Cr Road Maintenance Works Across 13,033 Km

7-year Programme Covers State Highways and District Roads

Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary on Saturday inaugurated road maintenance works covering 13,033 km across the state. The projects cover state highways and major district roads through 66 packages at an estimated cost of ₹10,590 crore. The programme was held at the Samvad auditorium in the Chief Minister’s Secretariat.

Seven-year Maintenance Contracts

The works will be carried out under the third phase of the Output and Long-Term Performance-Based Road Assets Maintenance Contract (OPRMC) system. Selected contractors will maintain the identified roads for seven years, covering the 2026–2033 period.

Mr Choudhary directed the road construction department to prevent overloaded vehicles from using bridges. He also asked the rural works department to stop overloaded vehicles from operating on rural roads.

Technology-led Road Monitoring

Mr Choudhary said the OPRMC system would bring greater accountability to road maintenance and provide a new direction to the process. He instructed officials to begin the maintenance works by Diwali.

Modern technology will be deployed to improve monitoring of the road network. Monthly maintenance reports will also be kept available, while officials will conduct monitoring at every kilometre.

Focus on District and Block Connectivity

The Chief Minister stressed that roads linking district headquarters with blocks must be maintained properly. He said organised maintenance would improve public convenience across the state.

Referring to infrastructure developed during former Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s tenure, Mr Choudhary said the roads and bridges must now be preserved. He said the target of reaching Patna from remote parts of Bihar within five hours had been achieved.

Work is also underway to bring the travel time down to four hours.

Maintenance Linked to Road Safety

Mr Choudhary said road maintenance was as important as construction. He added that safe and smooth roads directly benefit people.

A short film on the OPRMC system was screened during the event. A booklet was also released on the occasion.

58 Highway Patrol Vehicles Flagged Off

The Chief Minister also flagged off 58 highway patrol vehicles to strengthen safety, security and uninterrupted traffic movement on national highways.

The latest deployment takes the total number of operational highway patrol vehicles to 119. These vehicles are integrated with Dial-112 and will serve as first responders during road accidents.

They will provide immediate medical assistance during the Golden Hour and transport accident victims to hospitals without delay. The initiative is aimed at reducing road accident fatalities and maintaining smooth traffic movement on national highways.