[ArjunPadmakumar]

Ever since the lockdown came into effect a lot of industries and activities were lagging and bogged down. People generally became lazy and depressed and the general morale of people just nosedived. However, from mid-April onwards a lot of humongous infrastructure projects resumed work silently with an even faster speed than before.

Inspired by BHPian and admin moralfibres fantastic thread on the beautiful NH17/NH66 and based on the existing thread on bharatmala,
I have made this post/thread to update on the list of massive projects that are currently under construction and will open within 3-5 years that are seriously underrated, and many petrol heads and infrastructure crazy people like myself didn’t really know the quality and sheer scale of the projects that are planned/ under construction/opened.

The way we view Indian Roads as a whole will change in the immediate 5 to 10 years and these will turn out to make the effect the US interstate network had on North America in the 60s. A lot of these projects are unbelievably huge and fantastic and consists of record breakers too. (Mods please merge this post in an appropriate thread or a new one)

Delhi Mumbai Expressway
A massive 1 lakh crore rupee project.
1500km long and passing through Haryana, Rajasthan, MP, Gujarat, Maharashtra.
Cuts the Delhi Mumbai commute to 12 hours from the current 20+ hours.
Passes through backward and rural areas which serve the dual purpose of saving cost as well as developing underdeveloped pockets.
Divided into 2 parts, Mumbai to Vadodara which will be concreted, and Vadodara to Gurgaon will be asphalted.
Speed limit ranging from 120kmph to 150kmph depending on the stretch.
8 lanes (4+4 plus service lanes in urban areas) of 3.75m width with provision for 2 more lanes on each side.
Work started in 2019 and the Expected commissioning is in 2023, realistic considering the reputation of contractors, speed of ongoing parcels and commitment of Shri. Nithin Gadkari.

https://www.business-standard.com/ar...1400947_1.html

https://www.projectstoday.com/News/C...bai-Expressway

progress update:

https://youtu.be/FXd-kr2D8L8

https://youtu.be/iehl72-31xI

Both these channels provide regular accurate updates on the project.


Mumbai Nagpur Expressway
A 710km 8 lane concrete surfaced expressway traversing through Maharashtra.
Mumbai-Nagpur travel time reduced to 10 hours and Mumbai-Aurangabad travel time reduced to 4.5 hours.
Speed limit of 150kmph to be permitted.
Multiple viaducts and tunnels along the expressway including the 9 km long Igatpuri twin tunnels done by Afcons which is among the widest in the world.
Worlds largest paver used 16m width.
Work started in 2016 and is expected to be done by next year.









Purvanchal Expressway
348 km 6 lane Bitumen surfaced.
150kmph speed limit.
This expressway is an under construction 6 lane expressway connecting Lucknow to Ballia.
The significance of this expressway is that when done, this along with the Agra-Lucknow expressway and the Yamuna expressway both of which have been completed will connect a access controlled passage from Ballia till Delhi throughout Uttar Pradesh, a distance of over 900km. Expected completion in 2021.






Bundelkhand Expressway
Etawah to Chitrakoot 290/340KM length.
Access controlled 4 lane expressway (expandable to 6).
Speed limit of 120kmph.
Expected to be completed in 2023.




Amritsar Jamnagar Expressway
1300KM, 6/8 lane greenfield/brownfield depending on stretch.
Concept is to connect 3 refineries including the upcoming Barmer refinery.
This expressway could be entirely illuminated.
pictures of initial groundworks.





Ganga Expressway
8 lane asphalt 1040 km connecting Noida to Ballia.
Alternative to the Yamuna/agra/purvanchal Expressway.
Work will start next month, completing in 2024.
Second longest expressway after Delhi-Mumbai Expressway
proposed alignment and toll rates.




Upgrading Mumbai Pune expressway
The ghat section will be bypassed and the road widened into 8 lanes.
Multiple tunnels and viaducts will be constructed essentially straightening the stretch and reducing accidents and pileups in the ghats.
Speed limit of 120kmph throughout.





These are some of the projects I found currently under construction and due to be completed by 2025. There are dozens of other road projects each of which easily exceeding Rs. 1000 crore that are under approval, completed or proposed. Most of these will see the light of the day sooner or later. I strongly believe a lot of us are just not aware of the sheer scare of upgradation done in the country’s road infrastructure and besides the monetary and time benefits these will also reduce a lot of accidents, elevate the quality of road network as well as make us mentally believe to pick up cars from higher segments, although there are other factors too like the insane taxes and the ridiculous driving of our fellow countrymen. Keep up the good work to all those involved in such infrastructure projects. Please correct and add on to the list,Thank you and cheers!

Image courtesy OP, respective agencies UPEIDA, MSRDC, NHAI, respective YouTube channels, Skyscrapercity, Bharatmala

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Street Experiences Section. Thanks for sharing!

[KMT]

Wow, you have explained it very well.
It will indeed be a boon to development and economic progress. We are indeed moving towards firstvworld standards here

What is absolutely necessary with such development is rigorous driver training and effective traffic policeing.

I do hope the government does something on that front.

[nagr22]

Nice thread! Thanks for sharing. I didn't know we have roads with 150kph legal speed limits coming up. Do you know if there are any trucks/lorries in India which can do such speeds under full load in India? If not, the authorities must act quickly to ensure that the manufacturers make such vehicles and certify them as 'E-way Eligible' (Similar to 'Ghat Eligible' signs seen on buses plying on hills of Tirupathi). Toll operators must also ensure only such certified trucks are allowed on these roads. Ofcourse driver training too must be improved and Mr.Gadkari must really start making progress towards that as well. Exciting times ahead!

[Turbanator]

Looks promising. Some of the projects are developing fast whereas others are struck up in litigation like a small patch of Delhi- Panipat despite being a major highway for multiple states.

150 km/hr may not be a correct number as it’s too fast. Except for few countries in Europe, this is not a legal speed anywhere.

Forgot the trucks, even most cars/ sedans/ UV will be highly unsafe at these speeds. Besides, Government has this mandatory chime beyond 120 Km ruling.

[ArjunPadmakumar]

Originally Posted by KMT

Wow, you have explained it very well.
It will indeed be a boon to development and economic progress. We are indeed moving towards firstvworld standards here

What is absolutely necessary with such development is rigorous driver training and effective traffic policeing.

I do hope the government does something on that front.

Exactly,its high time highway etiquette is taught to roads users,its a hard and complicated thing to teach Indians manners sure, However if it doesn't work out harsher methods like fines and disqualifications might work out, after all Indian Railways has tried out and succeeded to a reasonable level with bio-toilets and social distancing in the Covid era. Fingers crossed and hope for the better!

Originally Posted by nagr22

Nice thread! Thanks for sharing. I didn't know we have roads with 150kph legal speed limits coming up. Do you know if there are any trucks/lorries in India which can do such speeds under full load in India? If not, the authorities must act quickly to ensure that the manufacturers make such vehicles and certify them as 'E-way Eligible' (Similar to 'Ghat Eligible' signs seen on buses plying on hills of Tirupathi). Toll operators must also ensure only such certified trucks are allowed on these roads. Ofcourse driver training too must be improved and Mr.Gadkari must really start making progress towards that as well. Exciting times ahead!

Nope there aren't any lorries fit for 150, at least in India.But We can expect semi-articulated lorries to replace the rigid chassis ones once scale of economy makes more sense over mileage for lorry owners.Already we can see the rise of Bharat Benz and the like which would have been unthinkable in 2012.
Even though the speed limit might be 150 it wont be that for all vehicles. It will likely be 150 for private cars, 120 for taxis, 100 for buses and 80 for lorries or a similar hierarchy.



Besides since its access-controlled most likely they will monitor heavy vehicles based to tonnage or some other criteria to make it Expressway eligible. Truly exciting times ahead indeed!

Originally Posted by Turbanator

Looks promising. Some of the projects are developing fast whereas others are struck up in litigation like a small patch of Delhi- Panipat despite being a major highway for multiple states.

150 km/hr may not be a correct number as it’s too fast. Except for few countries in Europe, this is not a legal speed anywhere.

Forgot the trucks, even most cars/ sedans/ UV will be highly unsafe at these speeds. Besides, Government has this mandatory chime beyond 120 Km ruling.

I myself am skeptical regarding the speed limits but that's what the NHAI, road ministry and many other claim it will be designed for
https://www.motoroids.com/news/upcom...h-speed-limit/

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com...4.cms?from=mdr

Even abroad we see vehicles unfit for the permitted top speeds, however folks there have sense to implement and practice proper lanes where the outer lanes are meant for slow moving vehicles and those exiting and entering the expressway and the middle ones for faster vehicles and rightmost lanes solely for overtaking, unlike here where we see tankers hogging the fast lane! hope this practice changes once road conditions improve,stricter policing is enforced and sheer determination is shown by citizens as well as law enforcement.
Lets see!

[Turbohead]

Wikipedia explains design speed really well

The design speed chosen for a highway is a major factor in choosing superelevation rates and radii of curves, sight distance, and the lengths of crest and sag vertical curves. Roads with higher travel speeds require sweeping curves, steeper curve banking, longer sight distances, and more gentle hill crests and valleys. Lower speed roads can have sharper curves, less banking, less sight distance, and sharper hill crests and valleys.

Is design speed equal to the speed limit?
Too big to post it here. Check out the link here:https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Design_speed

Until expressway speed limits are raised from 120 to 150, this is unlikely. Also, driver training and an equivalent of vehicle inspection tests like in the West is required to ensure vehicles are safe to be driven at such high speeds.

[DicKy]

Originally Posted by nagr22

Nice thread! Thanks for sharing. I didn't know we have roads with 150kph legal speed limits coming up. Do you know if there are any trucks/lorries in India which can do such speeds under full load in India?

150km/h doesn't mean the trucks/buses have to be doing it.
AFAIK, anywhere in the world, the speed limit for trucks is around 80km/h, maybe even 100km/h even if the speed limit for cars are higher in the same road.

The problem here is lane manners, but that's another topic.

Originally Posted by Turbanator

150 km/hr may not be a correct number as it’s too fast. Except for few countries in Europe, this is not a legal speed anywhere.

To be frank, it would be the design limit of the road. Not much chance of it being the real speed limit to be implemented.
Rest assured the Babus would make sure the limit is 120km/h, or god forbid even under 100km/h.

140-150km/h is a good speed limit to be followed in the desolate, rural stretches of highways.

Though the reality is 120km/h is enough if a minimum speed limit is enforced, nothing on legs cross the road, anything having less than four wheels is made to use the service roads, and even if motorcycles allowed, make sure they are tolled and have minimum engine capacity.

And proper rest facilities for truckers. In other words....upgraded dhabas

And then we are good.

[Radiator]

Originally Posted by ArjunPadmakumar

But We can expect semi-articulated lorries to replace the rigid chassis ones once scale of economy makes more sense over mileage for lorry owners.Already we can see the rise of Bharat Benz and the like which would have been unthinkable in 2012.

The rigid trucks have a higher power-to-weight ratio and a greater top speed in india.
Almost all companies use a single powerplant throughout their truck-range. We get a 55t truck with similar figures to its 28t rigid counterpart.
Manufacturers compensate for the lower engine torque in the semis by increasing the RAR which in turn reduces their top speed.

But all said, we don't even have a single multi-axle truck that can cruise at 80+ speeds without stressing the engine.

Ps: sorry for being OT

[dragracer567]

I don't understand why there are no major expressway projects coming up in the South. Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad - some of the most important cities in the country which aren't that far apart are still not connected by any expressway. And as far as I've heard, there are no plans to connect them either.

[NiInJa]

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/stree...t-updates.html (NH66 / NH17 Mumbai Goa Kanyakumari 4-lane road project updates)

The old Mumbai-Goa highway upgrade which is nearing completion being discussed in the link above. The road was just an undivided highway all these years.

[bsdbsd]

Good to know. The roads in Karnataka are in a very bad shape. Yesterday I went out on Kanakapura Road (which is supposed to be a national highway), and I just traveled 16 kms (10 miles) and every metre of the road is in a shabby shape. I cant for the life of me understand that the govt can not have even 10-20 kms of highway in a reasonable shape. War torn countries have better roads. Potholes, 10's of speed breakers, intersections every km, shops that are setup on the road itself, parked vehicles, no road surface at many places, trash strewn everywhere in the roadside...In summary, its not even 3rd world. Even villages in sub saharan Africa will surely have better roads. In 2020, no civilized country can exist like this. Indian roads are the worst of the worst. Sorry.

[scorpio2107]

Originally Posted by dragracer567

I don't understand why there are no major expressway projects coming up in the South. Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad - some of the most important cities in the country which aren't that far apart are still not connected by any expressway. And as far as I've heard, there are no plans to connect them either.

I agree. Being from Kerala my mind was blown looking at the infrastructure in the North. The roads are horrible in Kerala and it takes 10+ years to finish any kind of road widening. Its great to know that at least some parts of our country are developing really fast. Can only hope to see some good roads here in Kerala in the future

[RahuKetu]

A new express way named as Chambal Expressway from Bhind to Kota is also getting started. This will connect Kanpur with Delhi - Mumbai Expressway at Kota and will be nearly 400 KM long.

[swarnava.ch]

This is a great thread and gives insights to some of the critical strategic expressways planed in the country. It was very interesting to know on the 2 expressways planned in UP to connect all the way to New Delhi.
How this will benefit the state:
- High speed road connectivity to New Delhi via existing Agra Lucknow expressways
- Connecting relatively smaller cities on the way with good roads

Similarly the updates planned on the Mumbai Pune expressway:
- Cutting down sharp bends etc will definitely reduce the number of accidents and make the travel safer

Mumbai New Delhi Expressway
- I think its pretty obvious the benefits it brings to road transport
- It will be a joy for the Roadies in this group who can use it
- Connecting relatively smaller cities on the way with good roads


However something to point out here would be the cost of travel on this expressway has to be economic.
Case in point would be the Yamuna expressway on which I had travelled 2 years back and it costed a bomb.
If I remember correctly somewhere around 600 rs or something which is quite high.
So I would like to see reasonable toll for these roads to encourage usage given that alternates are always available and to motivate trucks and heavy vehicles to use these.