Road Transport in India

Classifications of Roads

Roads are mainly classified into following Categories:

Road Network in India

Importance of Road Transport

Road Development in India

The major initiative undertaken by the government for the development of road sector are:

• The National Highway Development Project (NHDP).
• Pradhan Mantri Bharat Jodo Pariyojana (PMBJP): linking of major cities to National Highways.
• Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY): Construction of Rural roads.

National Highway Development Project

NHDP deal with the development of high quality highways. NHDP is the largest highway project undertaken in the country. It has been implemented by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI).

Initially, The National Highway Development Project (NHDP) consists of two major components:

The “Golden Quadrilateral”: The Golden Quadrilateral” project will connect the four major metropolitan cities (Delhi. Mumbai, Chennai & Kolkata) with 4-6 lane highways, with a total length of about 5,850 km.

The “North South – East West” projects: The “North South – East West” project will connect the Northern most point of the country to the Southernmost, and similarly from East to West, with a total length of about 7,300 km

The NHDP was expected to cost Rs 540 billion, when started in 1998. The financing pattern of this project indicates that private sector participation in the form of investment amounts to only Rs 40 billion (7.4 per cent of the total).

Over the course of the project, institutions like the World Bank, Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Japanese Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) are expected to finance about Rs 200 billion; another Rs 200 billion of investment would be financed from the cess.

NHDP consists of following Phases:

1. Phase 1 and Phase 2: The phase envisages construction of 4 & 6 lane highways of about 14000 KMs. The two phases comprise construction of “Golden Quadrilateral” and North South (Sri Nagar to KanyaKumari) – East West (Silichair to Porbandar) Projects.
2. Phase 3: The phase consists of construction of 4-6 lane National highways of 12100 KMs connecting state capitals, tourist places, industrial centres.
3. Phase 4: The phase involved upgradation and strengthening of 20000 KMs of single/two lane national highways.
4. Phase 5: The phase involved construction of 6 lane national highways of 6500 KMs.
5. Phase 6 & 7: The phase 6 & 7, involved construction of 1000 KMs of expressways and construction of 700 KMs of ring roads of major towns and bypasses and other elevated roads, tunnels, underpasses on national highways respectively.

Problems of the Road Sector

Road Sector in India Recent Developments

Expansion of Roadways:

Road Development Program for North East Region

The Special Accelerated Road Development Programme for the North-Eastern region (SARDP-NE) is aimed at developing road connectivity between remote areas in the North East with state capitals and district headquarters

SARDP-NE is vested with the development of double-/four-lane national highways of about 7,530 kms and double-laning improving about 2,611 kms of state roads, as on FY16

Implementation of the road development programme would facilitate connectivity of 88 district headquarters in North Eastern states to the nearest National Highways

The project would be undertaken in following 3 phases:

Policy Initiatives by the Government