1. Current system

2. Recent developments

3. Statewise

4. Gallery

5. See also

6. References and notes

7. External links

The National Highways network of India is a network of trunk roads that is owned by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. It is constructed and managed by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI), the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation (NHIDCL), and the public works departments (PWDs) of state governments. NHAI was established by the National Highways Authority of India Act, 1988. Section 16(1) of the Act states that the function of NHAI is to develop, maintain, and manage the National Highways and any other highways vested in, or entrusted to, it by the Government of India. These highways as of December 2018 measure over {{convert|131,326|km||abbr=on}}.^[1] The Indian government led by PM Modi has vowed to double the highway length from 96,000 to 2,00,000 km.^[2]

As of June 2018, 27 km per day of highway construction has been achieved which is unprecedented in Indian history.^[3]

In India, National Highways are at-grade roads, whereas Expressways are controlled-access highways (mostly six-lane or above) where entrance and exit is controlled by the use of slip roads (ramps) that are incorporated into the design of the highway. The at-grade national highways do not have shoulder lanes.

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is the nodal agency responsible for building, upgrading, and maintaining most of the National Highways network. It operates under the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. The National Highways Development Project (NHDP) is a major effort to expand and upgrade the network of highways. NHAI often uses a public-private partnership model for highway development, maintenance, and toll-collection.

While National Highways constitute 1.8% of Indian roads, they carry 40% of the traffic.^[4] The majority of existing National Highways are two-lane roads (one lane in each direction), though much of this is being expanded to four-lanes and some to six or more lanes. Some sections of the network are toll roads.

Current system

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India has {{convert|131,326|km||abbr=on}} of National Highways (NH) connecting all the major cities and state capitals as of March 2018.{{fact|date=November 2018}} National Highways comprise 2.7% of India's total road network, but carry about 40% of road traffic.^[8] Most of them have two lanes. About {{convert|26000|km|abbr=on}} have been widened to four lanes with two lanes in each direction as of May 2016.{{fact|date=November 2018}} Only a few National Highways are built with concrete. As of March 2016, {{convert|20703|km|abbr=on|}} of National Highways were still single-laned roads.

India has the distinction of having the world's second highest-altitude motor highway: the Leh–Manali Highway connecting Manali, Himachal Pradesh in Himachal Pradesh to Leh in Ladakh, Kashmir.{{Citation needed|date=November 2010}}

National Highways form the economic backbone of the country and have often facilitated development along their routes. Many new towns have sprung up along major highways. Highways have large numbers of small restaurants and inns (known as dhabas) along their length. They serve popular local cuisine and serve as truck stops.

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways adopted a new systematic numbering of National Highways in April 2010. The new system indicates the direction of National Highways whether they are east–west (odd numbers) or north–south (even numbers). It also indicates the geographical region where they are with even numbers increasing from east to west starting from NH2 and odd numbers increasing from north to south starting from NH1.^[9]

Recent developments

Under former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, India launched a massive programme of highway upgrades, called the National Highways Development Project (NHDP), in which the main north–south and east–west corridors and highways connecting the four metropolitan cities (Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata) have been fully paved and widened into four-lane highways. Some of the busier National Highway sectors in India have been converted to four- or six-lane limited-access highways; for example, Delhi–Agra, Delhi–Jaipur, Ahmedabad–Vadodara, Mumbai–Pune, Mumbai–Surat, Bengaluru–Mysuru, Bengaluru–Chennai, Delhi–Meerut, Hyderabad–Vijayawada, Bhubaneswar–Puri, Guntur–Vijayawada, Jammu–Udhampur.

The National Highways Act, 1956^[10] provides for private investment in the building and maintenance of the highways. Some existing roads have been reclassified as National Highways. Bypasses have recently been constructed around larger towns and cities to provide uninterrupted passage for highway traffic. The hugely varied climatic, demographic, traffic, and sometimes political situation in India results in National Highways being single lane in places with low traffic to six lanes in places with heavy traffic. Many National Highways are being upgraded or are under construction. Some National Highways are long while some are short spurs off other National Highways to provide connectivity to nearby ports or harbours.

The length of National Highways in the country was 29,023 km in 1980 which expanded to 76,818 km by the end of 2012. Over 50% of the total road network, or 23,814 km, was added under the Vajpayee government between 1997 and 2002 — the largest construction of National Highways during any five-year period since independence.^[11] The UPA government added 18,000 km of highway in its ten-year administration between 2004 and 2014.^[12][13]

The longest National Highway is NH44,^[14] which runs between Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir and Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu at the southernmost point of the Indian mainland, covering a distance of {{convert|2369|km|mi|abbr=on}}. The shortest National Highway is NH966B,^[15][16] which spans {{convert|6|km|mi|abbr=on}}, to the Ernakulam–Kochi Port.

Statewise

Gallery

See also

• India–Myanmar–Thailand Trilateral Highway

References and notes

External links

• Story of a village by the highways

• Papilio joanae
• Papilio kotzebuea
• Papilio laarchus
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• Papilio laetitia
• Papilio laglaizei
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• Papilio laodamia
• Papilio laodice
• Papilio laodocus
• Papilio lara
• Papilio lathonia
• Papilio leilaria
• Papilio leilus
• Papilio leosthenes
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• Papilio libythea
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• Papilio lingeus
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