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.png) Road map of India with National Highway 2 highlighted in solid blue color | ||||
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| Route information | ||||
Part of AH1 | ||||
| Length | 1,465 km (910 mi) | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| West end | New Delhi | |||
| Major intersections | List
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| East end | Dankuni nearKolkata | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | India | |||
| States | Delhi: 12 km,Haryana: 74 km,Uttar Pradesh: 752 km,Bihar: 202 km,Jharkhand: 190 km,West Bengal: 235 km. It is also part ofAH1 ofAsian Highway Network, that traverses from Japan to Turkey. | |||
| Primary destinations | New Delhi,Faridabad,Agra,Etawah,Auraiya,Akbarpur,Panki,Barra,Kidwai Nagar,Kanpur,Chakeri,Rooma,Maharajpur,Sarsaul,Bindki,Fatehpur District,Khaga,Kaushambi,Allahabad,Varanasi,Mughalsarai,Mohania,Barhi,Panagarh,Palsit | |||
| Highway system | ||||
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OldNational Highway 2 or OldNH 2, (currentlyNational Highway 19) was a majorNational Highway inIndia, that connected the states ofDelhi,Haryana,Uttar Pradesh,Bihar,Jharkhand andWest Bengal. It constitutes a major portion of the historicalGrand Trunk Road along with old NH 91 andold NH 1 in India. The highway connects national capitalDelhi withKolkata as well as important cities such asFaridabad,Mathura,Agra,Kanpur,Allahabad,Varanasi,Dhanbad,Asansol,Durgapur andBardhaman.[1]
This NH has been renumbered asNH 19 andNH 44 afterrenumbering of all national highways byMinistry of Road Transport and Highways in 2010 and the old NH 2 number has ceased to exist. Now Delhi to Agra stretch is part of NH 44 and Agra to Kolkata stretch is NH 19.[2]
The road was the part of National Highway network of India, and it is officially listed as running over 1,465 km. The kilometer counts in each of the states were Delhi (12), Haryana (74), Uttar Pradesh (752), Bihar (202), Jharkhand (190), West Bengal (235).
NH 2 entered Haryana through Badarpur border atDelhi Faridabad Skyway inFaridabad. It ran parallel to the Faridabad corridor ofDelhi Metro and passed throughPalwal before enteringUttar Pradesh.
(West–east alignment)The National Highway 2 entered Uttar Pradesh fromHaryana inMathura district, and a part of it is known asMathura Road. BeforeMathura it coversPalwal andFaridabad city inHaryana. After Mathura it reachesAgra which is about 200 km (120 mi) In Agra it covers about 16 km (9.9 mi). After leaving Agra it enters inFirozabad district and thenEtawah where 15 km bypass of city is made. After leavingEtawah it entersKanpur city where a 23 km (14 mi) and 12 laneKanpur over-bridge has been built which is also one of the largest over-bridges in theAsia.[3] InKanpur it covers industrial belts (Akbarpur-Maharajpur) around 60 km (37 mi) and then it reachesFatehpur District and covers 16 km (9.9 mi) area of Fatehpur, then it reachesAllahabad via Kaushambi and covers 16 km (9.9 mi) in city then reachesVaranasi-Mughalsarai covers 15 km (9.3 mi) and thus leaves U.P. This national highway has given a new life to public transport in Northern India. The overbridges built inAgra,Kanpur,Fatehpur andAllahabad have reduced city traffic problems.Allahabad Bypass Expressway is also the country's longest bypass section.
(West–east alignment)The Bihar stretch of NH 2 starts from the bridge on theKarmanasa River that forms the border with Uttar Pradesh.NH 2 runs for 202 km in the state and then enters Jharkhand, betweenDobhi andChauparan, around Barachatti. In between it passes throughKaimur district.Mohania is the first major city on it. AlsoNH 30 is connected to In the city and leads to Patna city. The next city isSasaram where there is the tomb of Great EmperorSher Shah Suri. AtDehri- on-Son it crosses the wide expanse of theSon River over the Jawahar Setu. AtDobhi it meets the road toGaya and Patna (NH 83).NH 98 from Patna toDaltonganj crosses NH 2 at Aurangabad.
(East–west alignment)The Jharkhand stretch of NH 2 extends from the bridge on theBarakar River on the Asansol-Nirsa bypass to around Barachatti, and runs for 190 kilometres (120 mi). Immediately after crossing into Jharkhand from West Bengal, NH2 meets the junction with the road on the north leading toMaithon and the road on the south leading toPanchet. NH 2 returns to old Grand Trunk Road at Nirsa. At Gobindpur NH 2 meetsNH 32 leading toDhanbad andJamshedpur. AtTopchanchi there is a picturesque lake, off NH2. Thereafter for a long stretch up toIsri the massiveParasnath Hills /Shikharji dominates on the northern side of NH 2. AtDumri, the road on the north leads to Madhuban andGiridih. The next important junction isBagodar whereNH 100 meets NH2. There is a road leading toHazaribagh Road station. AtBarhi is the crossing withNH31 andNH33. BetweenChauparan andDobhi, around Barachatti, NH 2 crosses over toBihar. Much of the Jharkhand sector of NH 2 passes through an undulating area onKoderma plateau.
(East–west alignment)TheWest Bengal end of NH 2 starts or terminates atDankuni in the outskirts ofKolkata.[4] There is a 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) stretch to theNivedita Bridge, and thereafterBelghoria Expressway links it to Barrackpur Trunk Road, and Jessore Road/NH 34. Alternatively, Kolkata bound traffic takes theNH 6 at Dankuni and then follows theKona Expressway/NH 117 andVidyasagar Setu to enter Kolkata.
The four–lane West Bengal portion of NH 2 stretches fromBarakar toDankuni and the entire stretch is complete. The 65 kilometres (40 mi) Dankuni-Palsit stretch is also known as Durgapur Expressway. From Palsit to the outskirts ofAsansol it follows the oldGrand Trunk Road bypassing such towns asSaktigarh,Bardhaman andRaniganj but passes throughDurgapur andAndal. The Palsit–Panagarh stretch is 64 kilometres (40 mi) and the Panagarh–Raniganj stretch is 42 kilometres (26 mi). At Panagarh Darjeeling Mor NH 2 meetsPanagarh–Morgram Highway. In the outskirts of Asansol NH 2 leaves Grand Trunk Road. The latter passes through crowded areas of Asansol,Neamatpur,Kulti andBarakar in West Bengal andChirkunda and Kumardhubi inJharkhand. A bypass links the outskirts of Asansol withNirsa, where the NH 2 gets back to Grand Trunk Road. The Raniganj–Barakar stretch is 33 kilometres (21 mi). The widened 120 kilometres (75 mi) Panagarh–Dhanbad stretch was thrown open to traffic in 2001.[5]
Construction cost of the 130 kilometres (81 mi) Panagarh–Dankuni section was 178 million US dollars.[6] The entire stretch in West Bengal happens to be a toll zone. There are toll plazas at three places: Asansol, Palsit and Dankuni. Asansol toll plaza is now closed. Also a toll plaza is there at Banskopa near Durgapur.And a new toll booth has been established at Maithon More in Jharkhand, just a few kilometres after crossing the bridge on Barakar River. According to the NHAI's statistical record, in 2008 everyday about 850,000 to 900,000 vehicles plied between Barakar and Dankuni. The gross toll collection amounted to Rs 2,500,000 per day. Large number of buses ply along NH 2. South Bengal State Transport Corporation operates 47 buses between Durgapur and Kolkata alone. In 2008 South Bengal State Transport Corporation has started bus services between Burdwan and Kolkata.Both AC and non AC buses are available. There are around 50 buses. In 2011 Royal Express AC bus service was started between Burdwan and Kolkata.[7]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) National Highways-Source-National Highways Authority of India (NHAI)
