All About the National Highways in India

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways owns India’s national highways, which comprise a network of trunk roads. The Central Public Works Department (CPWD), the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL), and State Public Works Departments (PWD) are responsible for its construction and management. The longest National Highway in India is National Highway 44, which is 3,508 kilometres long (2,180 mi).

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL) are the nodal entities in charge of the majority of the National Highways network’s construction, upgrade, and maintenance. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways is in charge of it. The National Highways Development Project (NHDP) is a major initiative to extend and improve the nation’s roadway network. For highway maintenance and toll collection, the NHAI frequently employs a public-private partnership approach. The NHIDCL builds, develops, and maintains key roadways along the country’s international borders using the Engineering Procurement and Construction (EPC) approach.

Characteristics:

As of March 2021, India had 151,019 kilometres (93,839 mi) of National Highways.

As of 2013, national highways made up 2.7 percent of India’s overall road network but carried roughly 40% of all traffic.

The government pledged in 2016 to expand the highway network from 96,000 km to 200,000 km.

The majority of current roadways are now four-lane (two lanes in each direction), while many are being upgraded to six or more lanes. Toll roads run through some parts of the network. Concrete is used in the construction of only a few highways. To offer uninterrupted passage for highway traffic, bypasses have been built around larger towns and cities. National Highways have been reclassified on several existing highways.

Longest Highway In India:

NH 44 is India’s longest national highway. Previously known as National Highway 7. The North-South Corridor of the NHDP is covered by NH 44, which is 3,745 kilometres long. It begins in the north with Srinagar and finishes in the south with Kanyakumari. The NH 44 highway was created by combining seven significant national highways with different numbers, including NH 1A, NH 1, NH 2, NH 3, NH 75, NH 26, and NH 7.

Longest Highway In India: Facts:

• India has the world’s second-largest road network.
• There are nearly 200 national highways in India, with a total length of 101,011 kilometres. The entire length of India’s state highways is 1,31,899 kilometres.
• The main highway is designated by a two-digit number, and all three-digit highways are theoretically branches of the main route.
• For instance, the 144-number highway is a branch of the 44-number highway. These are further subdivided, each of which is named with a suffixed alphabet, such as 144A, 244A, and so on.
• National highways account for barely 1.8 percent of all roadways in India. Despite this, they control 40% of the country’s road traffic.
• National Highway Colors:

National highways have a yellow and white colour scheme.

State roadways are green and white.

For city highways, black and white is used.

• The shortest national highways in India are NH 118 and NH 548. NH 118 runs for around 5 kilometres between the towns of Asanbani and Jamshedpur in the state of Jharkhand. The National Highway 548 runs for around 5 kilometres in Maharashtra.
• The Leh-Manali Route connects Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, and Leh, Jammu & Kashmir, and is the world’s second highest-altitude highway.

Conclusion:

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) was established in 1988 by an Act of Parliament and is managed by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) was established as a central authority to develop, maintain, and manage the National Highways entrusted to it by the Indian government. The authority, on the other hand, began operations in February of 1995. The Authority is made up of a full-time Chairman and up to five full-time and four part-time members nominated by the Central Government. The Secretary (RT&H), Secretary (Expenditure), Secretary (Planning), and DG (RD) & SS are part-time members.

At its headquarters, the NHAI has technical, financial, administrative, and vigilance wings. At various sites, Project Implementation Units (PIUs) led by a Project Director and staffed by various technical and accounting officers have been established to ensure that the projects are completed on time.