National Highways Development Project in India

National highways have always played an important role in supporting the transportation of goods and people. We cannot imagine what transport facilities would have looked like if National highways were not built across the country. Now, since these national highways are so important, the need for their maintenance and development arises. Keeping that in mind, a project called the National highway Development project was started in 1998. The main aim behind this project was to rehabilitate, upgrade and widen the major national highways of our country.

National Highway Development project India

This project is divided into different phases, and these different phases of the national highway development project India are:

Phase 1

The Golden quadrilateral connects the four metro cities, i.e. Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi and Kolkata. The total expenditure on this project is 300 billion INR, and it is spread across a distance of 5,846 km. The four-lane general quadrilateral network was completed in January 2012 under the National Highways Development Project.

Phase 2

The East-west and the North-south corridor provides connectivity to the four extremes of the country. This corridor connects Srinagar in North India to Kanyakumari in south India. It also connects Porbandar in the west of India to Silchar in the East of India. The total funding of this project is 350 billion INR.

Phase 3

Phase 3 of India’s national highways development project was proposed on the 12th of April in 2007. It aims for the up-gradation of 12109 km of highways to assist the building, transfer and operation of goods and services. It considers the high traffic that connects various states by the NHDP 1 and 2.

Phase 4

This phase of the National Highway Development project NHDP in India began in 2008. It mainly focused on widening the highways that were not a part of phases 1, 2 or 3. Its basic aim was to convert the existing single-lane highways into two-laned Highways.

Phase 5

Phase 5 of the National Highway Development project was introduced, keeping in mind the increase in traffic on roads. The up-gradation of all the four-lane highways to six-laned Highways was planned by the National Highways Development project in India.

Phase 6

Under phase 6 of the National Highway development project NHDP, the government planned to build a 1000 km long expressway that will connect major townships and industrial areas. 

Phase 7

Addition of ring roads to improve and enhance the city road network and connect national highways to the important cities. National highways will also be stretched to build additional highways and bypasses. 16,680 crore INR will be spent on this phase of the development of national highways.

Important facts

• There are about 200 national highways in India which are spread across a distance of 101,011 km. At the same time, the total length of state highways adds up to 1,31,899 km. 

• When you see the numbering of highways and come across a highway with two-digit numbering, you can know that it is a national highway, while if it has a three-digit numbering, you will know that it is a division of the National highway.

• The government of India launched the Bharatmala Pariyojna to improve connectivity through national highways. The economic corridors, far-flung areas and border regions were planned to grant and enhance connectivity.

• Of the total road length, national highways account for only 2% of the total length, but they facilitate the travel of 40% of the total traffic. 

Conclusion

Highways are an important part of the infrastructure of India. They facilitate travel and ensure a smooth journey. They also play an important role in connecting different cities and states. Under the National Highways Development project India, the government of India aims to expand the feasibility and functioning of national highways in order to provide smooth transportation. There are various phases of the national highways development project in India that have been successfully implemented. 

India is a country where all the different states are interconnected with different national highways. They are spread across a huge distance and facilitate transportation.