[sanchari]

Many are also confusing city/intra-state roads with NHAI. Road tax collected on vehicles is from state govt. At least in the south, most of the NHAI maintained roads are in good shape, while SHs in TN is pretty good compared to other southern states. Telangana/AP is also ok, while Karnataka's SHs are the worst.

When travelling BLR-HYD for example, the road is beautiful once you reach the city outskirts. Within the city(both cities), roads are atrocious, especially during monsoons. The tolls though are almost Rs 600 each way, but the roads are really good and worth it. Kia's factory is right on the NH, and it might be one reason why Kia decided on the location (along with incentives provided by AP).

Also, if I am not wrong, the road acquisition is still responsibility of state govt(though funds are from NHAI). If I remember right, that is one of the reason for NHAI not being able to expand NHs in Kerala due to state govt not willing to process acquisitions. And even during GQ times, it was held up in many states due to land acquisition issues. I believe they made a change (not sure though), that they will award road projects only oce atleast 60-70% land is acquired.

[JithinR]

Originally Posted by sanchari

Also, if I am not wrong, the road acquisition is still responsibility of state govt(though funds are from NHAI). If I remember right, that is one of the reason for NHAI not being able to expand NHs in Kerala due to state govt not willing to process acquisitions. And even during GQ times, it was held up in many states due to land acquisition issues. I believe they made a change (not sure though), that they will award road projects only oce atleast 60-70% land is acquired.

At least last year as far as I can remember the Finance ministry asked NHAI to slow down it's highway building spree due to a funding crunch. There are a news articles reporting how the PMO's office pulled up the Transport Ministry and the NHAI for undertaking ‘extensive and reckless expansion of roads’ coming under the National Highways.

I think they had subsequently placed only 76km of the 966kms of NH66 on the priority 1 list. This caused a political storm in Kerala which forced NHAI to amend it's order.

The delay in Kerala (in my limited understanding) is simply because of the extremely high land acquisition cost which actually made Kerala itself take up the responsibility of funding 25% of it. There was another controversy over the road width itself which I believe is now resolved.

Sources:

1. https://www.newindianexpress.com/sta...la-2028944.amp
2. https://www.thehindu.com/news/nation...34428.ece/amp/
3. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...w/69299802.cms

[Ashutosh]

For someone interested in new infrastructure projects being built in the country I came across this youtube channel. It has regular videos about new and old work's progress and announcements.

https://youtu.be/Es8Cj-J5PYc

[mmxylorider]

Originally Posted by Ashutosh

For someone interested in new infrastructure projects being built in the country I came across this Youtube channel. It has regular videos about new and old work's progress and announcements.

I follow this channel and he does a decent job of aggregating content from multiple sources into this capsule. Lately, he has started a series on state based infra projects.

As mentioned earlier, even if 50% of those see light of the day, that will be a big plus.

I am also noticing, a lot of focus and drive to complete projects in the sensitive Northern regions (Leh and the likes) is being given. The soon to be opened Atal tunnel is one such example. I would not be surprised to see more Leh oriented travelogs since there will be year round connectivity and not Rohtang pass dependent.

Edit: No affiliations of any sort with these you-tubers!

[WorkingGuru]

Just realised that currently, the average life of a regular passenger cars' suspension before it needs to be overhauled, is about 75K kms in India. Whereas it is almost double that in US/Europe, where the roads are good all across.

If these State Highways are kept in good shape, we as users will not just save on the cost of suspension, but also get roads with good surface, proper marking/reflectors, well defined banking, parking bays, scientific speed-brakers etc to reduce stress & thus (largely) lead to safer usage of highways.

Ofcourse, as I said earlier, it won't come cheap as they're built by private entities who'd milk users, cut corners & extend their contracts perpetually. But being a young nation, we do need good road infrastructure to increase accessibility.

Hope there is a similar decision with respect to allowing aggregators like Ola/Uber to ply & integrate private buses within the city limits too.

[mmxylorider]

Did not want to start a new thread on other Infra projects but thought of posting a quick update. I was watching a new capsule by DD India on the Atal tunnel and it appears to be quite innovative in its execution. An escape tunnel under the main tunnel that can accommodate LMVs. Add to it another alternative greenfield road being developed to reach Leh - that region is soon going to be a 'desired destination'. Looking forward to the first riders/drivers to post travelogues and details on these new roads.

[RM Motorsports]

FM announces highway projects in 4 poll bound states.

Union Budget 2021 provides a big boost to highway construction across the country. A flagship project of Rs 1.18 lakh crore will include:

- 600km Mumbai - Kanyakumari highway
- 3500km of highways in Tamil Nadu
- 1100km highway expansion in Kerala
- 675km of roads in West Bengal