National Highway 2 (India) - NH 2 in West Bengal

NH 2 in West Bengal

(East-west alignment) The West Bengal end of NH 2 starts or terminates at Dankuni in the outskirts of Kolkata . There is a 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) stretch to the Nivedita Bridge, and thereafter Belghoria Expressway links it to Barrackpur Trunk Road, and Jessore Road/ NH 34. Alternatively, Kolkata bound traffic takes the NH 6 at Dankuni and then follows the Kona Expressway/NH 117 and Vidyasagar Setu to enter Kolkata.

The four–lane West Bengal portion of NH 2 stretches from Barakar to Dankuni 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 of Asansol it follows the old Grand Trunk Road bypassing such towns as Saktigarh, Bardhaman and Raniganj but passes through Durgapur and Andal. 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 meets Panagarh–Morgram Highway. In the outskirts of Asansol NH 2 leaves Grand Trunk Road. The latter passes through crowded areas of Asansol, Neamatpur, Kulti and Barakar in West Bengal and Chirkunda and Kumardhubi in Jharkhand. A bypass links the outskirts of Asansol with Nirsa, 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.

Construction cost of the 130 kilometres (81 mi) Panagarh–Dankuni section was 178 million US dollars. 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. 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.