Indian Road Network

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India has a large road network of over 3.314 million kilometers of roadways (2.1 million
miles), making it the third largest road network in the world. At 0.66 km of highway per
square kilometer of land the density of India’s highway network is higher than that of the
United States (0.65) and far higher than that of China's (0.16) or Brazil's (0.20).[1]
However, as of 2002 only 47.3% of the network consisted of paved roads.[1] Historically
the funds set aside for the maintenance and expansion of the road network have been
insufficient[1] but major efforts are currently underway to modernize the country's road
infrastructure and India plans to spend approximately US$70 Billion over the next three
years.[2]HYPERLINK \l "cite_note-usnews-2"[3]HYPERLINK \l "cite_note-wsj-
3"[4]HYPERLINK \l "cite_note-kamal_nath_spending-4"[5] Some of the major projects
that are being implemented include the National Highways Development Project and the
Mumbai-Pune Expressway. According to recent estimates by Goldman Sachs, India will
need to spend US$1.7 Trillion on infrastructure projects over the next decade to boost
economic growth.[6] In an effort to accomplish this, the Government of India is
attempting to promote foreign investment in road projects by offering financial incentives
such as toll rights to developers.[6]HYPERLINK \l "cite_note-forbes_india-
6"[7]HYPERLINK \l "cite_note-rediff_roads-7"[8] However due to rising prices of
Petroleum (being a Non-renewable resource),foreign investors have urged the
Government of India to focus instead on improving public transport like the Indian
Railways and Rapid transit systems.[9]
Contents
[hide]

• 1 History

• 2 Στα τ ι σ τ ι χ σ

• 3 Ροα δ σ

• 3.1 National Highways

• 3.1.1 Expressways

• 3.2 State Highways

• 3.3 ∆ ι σ τ ρ ι χ τ
ροα δ σ

3.4 Ρ υ ρ α λ & οτη ε ρ

ροα δ σ

• 4 Issues

• 5 Σε ε αλσ ο

• 6 Ρεφ ε ρ ε ν χ ε σ

7 Εξ τ ε ρ ν α λ λινκ σ

[edit] History

The Silk Road in the 1st century.

The first evidence of road development in the Indian subcontinent can be traced back to
approximately 4000 BC from the ancient cities of Harrapa and Mohenjodaro of the Indus
Valley Civilization. Around the 1st Century AD, the ancient Silk Road came into being,
which passed through northern India and China.

Evolution of the Indian road network - The main map shows routes that have existed
since Mughal times, Inset A shows the major cultural currents of the prehistoric period, B
shows pre-Mauryan Indian routes, C shows the Mauryan network, D shows the trade
routes at the beginning of the Christian era, and E shows the Indian "Z".
Ruling emperors and monarchs of ancient India constructed numerous brick roads in the
cities. One of the most famous highways of medieval India is the Grand Trunk Road. The
Grand Trunk Road began in Sonargaon near Dhaka in Bangladesh and ended at Peshawar
in modern-day Pakistan. In India, it linked several important cities from Kolkata in the
east to Amritsar in the west, while passing through the cities of Patna, Varanasi, Kanpur,
Agra, Delhi, Panipat, Pipli, Ambala, Rajpura, Ludhiana, and Jalandhar. During the
colonial period in the 19th century, the British upgraded the existing highway network
and built roads in many treacherous areas such as the Western Ghats.

[edit] Statistics
Almost 80% of passenger traffic and about 65% of freight movement is handled by this
vast network.
In general, roads in India are primarily bitumen-based macadamized roads. However, a
few of the National Highways have concrete roads too. In some locations, such as in
Kanpur, British-built concrete roads are still in use. Concrete roads were less popular
prior to 1990s because of low availability of cement then. However, with large supplies
of cement in the country and the virtues of concrete roads, they are once again gaining
popularity. Concrete roads are weather-proof and require lower maintenance compared to
bituminous roads. Because bitumen is obtained mostly from imported crude oil, and due
to other factors, concrete-based roads will prove to be more cost-effective in future. Apart
from these, one also comes across unpaved dirt roads in the countryside, which is fast
getting converted to paved roads.
Indian Road Network
Length (km)

Class

National Highways/Expressways 66,754

State Highways 128,000
Major district roads 470,000
Rural & other roads 2,650,000
Total (approx) 3,314,754

Paved Roads
 Percent (%)

â
â
Class

Paved Roads (% of 2 lane roads) 34[10]

Paved Roads (% of 4 lane roads) 1[10]
Paved Roads (% of total road network) 47.3[10]

The National and State Highways form the economic backbone of the country. These
have helped development along the route, and many towns have sprung up along major
highways. State Highways and Major District Roads constitute the secondary system of
road infrastructure of India.
By acting as the link between the rural and urban areas, the State Highways and Major
District Roads contribute significantly to the development of the rural economy and
industrial growth of the country. It is estimated that the secondary system carries about
40 per cent of the total road traffic and comprises about 20% of the total road length.
State-wise Road Network
Major Other
National State Total surfaced Total length
State/U District District &
Highways Highwa length (km) as on (km) as on
T Roads Link Roads
(km) ys (km) March 31, 2002 March 31, 2002
(km) (km)
Andaman
& 300 1,180 1,180
Nicobar
Andhra
4,472 1,19,857 1,96,172
Pradesh
Arunacha
392 5,689 18,365
l Pradesh
Assam 2,836 12,882 89,486
Bihar 3,642 32,858 76,065
Chandiga
24 2,045 2,045
rh
Chhattisg
2,184 24,476 35,372
arh
Dadra &
Nagar 580 580
Haveli
Daman
324 414
& Diu
Delhi 72 23,274 28,508
Goa 269 6,830 9,672
Gujarat 3,245 1,24,295 1,37,617
Haryana 1,512 26,311 28,203
Himachal
1,208 2,160 2,240 16,754 29,617
Pradesh
Jammu
& 1,245 9,943 23,429
Kashmir
Jharkhan
1,805 2,840 11,486
d
Karnatak
3,843 1,04,241 1,52,599
a
Kerala 1,457 4,006 23,702 50,164 1,50,851
Lakshad
150 150
weep
Madhya
4,670 78,191 1,60,968
Pradesh
Maharas
4,176 33,705 2,09,559 2,67,452
htra
Manipur 959 3,863 11,434
Meghala
810 6,560 9,565
ya
Mizoram 927 2,877 5,075
Nagaland 494 6,451 21,021
Orissa 3,704 52,245 2,37,034
Puducher
53 2,115 2,571
ry
Punjab 1,557 2,166 1,799 34,997 52,747 61,530
Rajastha
5,585 82,456 1,32,482
n
Sikkim 62 1,546 2,019
Tamil
4,462 7,163 7,362 40,963 1,54,958 1,91,947
Nadu
Tripura 400 4,393 16,296
Uttarakh
1,991 10,730 33,547
and
Uttar
5,874 1,66,659 2,48,481
Pradesh
West
2,524 49,517 92,023
Bengal
Total 66,754
The Central Road Research Institute (CRRI), established in 1948, is the premier national
laboratory engaged in carrying out research and development projects on design,
construction and maintenance of roads and runways, traffic and transportation planning
of mega and medium cities, management of roads in different terrains, improvement of
marginal materials, utilization of industrial waste in road construction, landslide control,
ground improvements environmental pollution, road traffic safety and analysis & design,
wind, fatigue, corrosion studies, performance monitoring/evaluation, service life
assessment and rehabilitation of highway & railway bridges.

[edit] Roads
[edit] National Highways
Main article: National Highway (India)

India National Highways Map

These are main highways running through the length and breadth of the country
connecting major ports, state capitals, large industrial and tourist centres, etc. National
Highways in India are designated as NH followed by the highway number.
The traffic on National Highways has been growing due to the recent economic growth in
India and the Government of India is taking steps to improve management techniques to
provide hindrance-free traffic movement by way of widening roads, grade separation,
construction of bypasses, bridges, rail-road crossings, and utilizing the latest
technologies.
Even though the National Highways represent only 2% of the total network length, they
handle about 40% of the total road traffic. The National Highways are further classified
based on the width of carriageway of the Highway. Generally, in case of a single lane, the
lane width is of 3.75 meters, while in case of multi-lane National Highways, each of the
lanes have a width of 3.5 meters. As of February 2008, out of the total length, 14% have
four or more lanes and about 59% have 2-lanes or are double-laned, while the rest (27%)
of the National Highway network has single or intermediate lane.
[edit] Expressways

Mumbai Pune Expressway

Main article: National Expressway (India)
The Expressways of India make up approximately 200 km (120 mi),[11] of the Indian
National Highway System. Indian Expressways are access controlled, feature a divider in
the center and have at least six-lanes along with a shoulder on either side.[citation
needed] Usually no two-wheelers, three-wheelers or tractor vehicles are allowed on these
roads.[citation needed] Speeds of 120 km/h (75 mph) can be maintained on these roads
due to separate merging lanes and the lack of speed breakers[clarification needed] so as
to ensure smooth travel. Most of the existing expressways in India are toll roads.[citation
needed]
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) was constituted by the Indian
Parliament in 1988. It is the authority responsible for the development, maintenance and
management of National Highways entrusted to it. The Authority was made operational
in February 1995 and is currently undertaking the developmental activities under
National Highways Development Project (NHDP) in phases. All the phases combined
together envisage improvement of more than 25,000 km of arterial routes of National
Highway Network to international standards. In addition to implementation of NHDP, the
NHAI is also responsible for implementing other projects on National Highways,
primarily road connectivity to major ports in India.
National Highway classification
Lanes Length (km) Percentage
Single Lane / Intermediate lane 18,350 27%
Double lane 39,079 59%
Four Lane/Six lane/Eight Lane 9,325 14%
Total 66,754 100%

[edit] State Highways

Main article: State Highway (India)
This section requires expansion.
The State Highways provide linkages with the National Highways, district headquarters,
important towns, tourist centres and minor ports and carry the traffic along major centers
within the state. These arterial routes provides connectivity to important towns and cities
within the state with National Highways or State Highways of the neighboring states.
Their total length is about 137,711 km.
The Ministry of State for Surface Transport in India administers the national highway
system, and state highways and other state roads are maintained by state public works
departments. The central and state governments share responsibilities for road building
and maintaining Indian roads. [12]

[edit] District roads

This section requires expansion.
These are important roads within a district connecting areas of production with markets
and connecting these with each other or with the State Highways & National Highways.
It also connects Taluka headquarters and rural areas to District headquarters within the
state.
Major District Roads
Intermediate lane Double lane Multilane Total
State/UT Single lane (km)
(km) (km) (km) (km)
Tamil
4,797 757 1,761 47 7,362
Nadu

[edit] Rural & other roads

The rural roads in India forms a substantial portion of the vast Indian road network. Most
of the rural roards were initially sand-roads. Because the agricultural produce and the
finished products of small-scale industries in rural areas are to be moved from the
producing centres to the marketing centers, the road connectivity is essential for rural
population.
For the development of these rural roads, Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY)
(or "Prime Minister Rural Roads Scheme"), was launched in December 2000 by the
Government of India to provide connectivity to unconnected rural habitations as part of a
poverty eradication measure. For its implementation, the Government of India is setting
uniform technical and management standards and facilitating policy development and
planning at State level in order to ensure sustainable management of the rural roads
network. The scheme is to be implemented in phases wherein the number of roads under
each phase would be governed by the population of habitations (hamlets). For example,
the initial phase would attempt to cover all in-habitations with a population of 1000.
It is expected that about 3,75,000 km of new road construction and 3,72,000 km of
upgradation/renewal would be undertaken as part of the scheme. The construction cost is
fully borne by the Government of India as a Centrally sponsored Scheme, while the State
Governments are responsible for providing maintenance funds. As of May 24, 2007,
more than 122,000 km of roads have been completed under PMGSY and work is in
progress in projects covering another 1,00,000 km.

[edit] Issues

Buldhana road, road joing two Tehsils in Vidarbha, Maharashtra.

The main roads in India are under huge pressure and in great need of modernization in
order to handle the increased requirements of the Indian economy. In addition to
maintenance, the expansion of the network and widening of existing roads is becoming
increasingly important. This would then enable the roads to handle increased traffic, and
also allow for a corresponding increase in the average movement speed on India's roads.
Presently, lane capacity is low and only about 16% of India's roads are four lanes or
above.[7] In addition, approximately a quarter of all India's highways are congested, in
some cases reducing truck and bus speeds to 30-40 km/h (19-25 mph).[1] Road
maintenance remains under-funded, and some 40 percent of villages in India lack access
to all-weather roads.[1]
Due to decades of bureaucratic and procedural difficulties, the road network has suffered
long delays. Recently however, political leaders in India are making efforts to prioritize
the modernization and expansion of the road network. However, there are still other
environmental, logistical, and local issues contributing to delay in development of the
road infrastructure. For instance, although the government itself owns a wide corridor
around the center of roads called the Right of Way (ROW), over many years, poor and
landless people have built houses and other property along the roadside. Farmers whose
fields adjoined the road had their crops encroach up to the side of the road. Further, other
resources are located along roadsides, whether they be trees, pathways to water resources,
streams that were used for their water, etc. Trucking goods from Gurgaon to the port in
Mumbai can take up to 10 days.[13] Taxes and bribes are common between state borders;
Transparency International estimates that truckers pay annually US$5 billion in bribes.
[13]HYPERLINK \l "cite_note-13"[14] Although India has only 1% of the world's
vehicles, India has 8% of the world's vehicle fatalities or 95,000 people, second only to
China.[15]HYPERLINK \l "cite_note-15"[16]HYPERLINK \l "cite_note-16"[17]
India's cities are extremely congested — the average bus speed is 6–10 km/h in many
large cities. Because of the congestion in Indian roads the fuel efficiency of the vehicles
is also very low. This increases the overall fuel consumption of the country besides
creating huge pollution since the engines run very inefficiently at such low speeds.[18]