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Old 14th August 2020, 15:40   #1
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Govt. to build 23 new expressways & highways in 5 years

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) plans to complete the construction of 23 new expressways and highways by March 2025.

Govt. to build 23 new expressways & highways in 5 years-e978d14c917ac76e5c738f1b1246b0f0xfgez.jpg

By March 2023, four new expressways including the Delhi-Mumbai, Ahmedabad-Dholera and Amritsar-Jamnagar will be ready, while nine others will be completed by March 2024. Another nine greenfield highways will be completed by March 2025. The new highways will connect various cities across India including Surat, Solapur, Lucknow, Vishakhaptnam, Chennai, Bangalore, Vijaywada, Raipur, Kota, Kharagpur and Siliguri.

The combined length of these expressways is around 7,800 km. The project would require an investment of around Rs. 3.3 lakh crore in the next 5 years.

Instead of widening existing highways, NHAI is building brand new expressways in an attempt to ensure seamless movement of people and goods. At present, cargo vehicles cover about 400 km per day on average, which is 50% less than the global standard. With the new roads, the cost and time required to transport goods across the country could be reduced by up to 50%.

The expressways will be operated on the Toll Operate and Transfer (TOT) model. The investments will be recovered from toll collection over 15-20 years.

Source

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Old 14th August 2020, 16:50   #2
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Re: Govt. to build 23 new expressways & highways in 5 years

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Originally Posted by TusharK View Post
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) plans to complete the construction of 23 new expressways and highways by March 2025.

Attachment 2042647

By March 2023, four new expressways including the Delhi-Mumbai, Ahmedabad-Dholera and Amritsar-Jamnagar will be ready, while nine others will be completed by March 2024. Another nine greenfield highways will be completed by March 2025. The new highways will connect various cities across India including Surat, Solapur, Lucknow, Vishakhaptnam, Chennai, Bangalore, Vijaywada, Raipur, Kota, Kharagpur and Siliguri.

Source

Link to Team-BHP News
Praying to God that the road to Siliguri from Kolkata gets built quickly. Had a horrible experience when driving down to my hometown during lockdown days. Craters, Potholes, Single Lane dividerless roads are an inherent feature of this stretch. And one should experience the truck jams at Dalkhola to believe what an actual jam looks like. At one point I even encountered a small bridge which had a pole jutting out at both ends which has basically been put to prevent big vehicles to pass through. Couldn't believe my eyes when I saw it and was in despair thinking i took a wrong route. Farakka Barrage is another legend in its own right.

If all goes well it would be a truly breezy affair driving down different states. Fingers Crossed.
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Old 15th August 2020, 05:25   #3
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Re: Govt. to build 23 new expressways & highways in 5 years

All well and good. For improving traffic flow, we need:
1. Powerful trucks which can comfortably cruise 90-100km/h
2. Disciplined driving - indisciplined drivers can create a traffic jam on any road
3. Ban 2-wheelers, 3 wheelers, and small 4 wheelers like Tata Ace (with an exception for motorcycles with engines > 250cc)
4. Collect tolls are exits

I hope the government can do this too. Else, they should just build overpasses over towns on existing highways.
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Old 15th August 2020, 08:53   #4
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Re: Govt. to build 23 new expressways & highways in 5 years

I am with the govt on this. I hope we have expressways and access controlled highways connecting all major cities and towns along with outer ring/bypass expressways in the top 20 or so metropolitan areas. Before this decade ends, we should be able to drive seamlessly from one corner of the country to another within 12-14 hours.
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Old 15th August 2020, 09:06   #5
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Re: Govt. to build 23 new expressways & highways in 5 years

Hope this happens. The golden quadrilateral is the only example of a strategic roadway project, but implementation varied. Roads in parts of MP, Bihar, UP and the NH34 in WB are in shambles. Even in Maharashtra, many roads require tolls while being constructed and this is unethical- people drive on crater lined unsafe roads and have to pay a toll.

Also hope that some measures are taken to separate bike lanes from other lanes. It is hazardous for 2 wheelers with even buses going at 80 kph and at the same time it is a disservice to them if they cannot use the improved roads. Hope a 2 wheeler lane is implemented like it is done in Vietnam and some other SE Asian places.
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Old 15th August 2020, 10:29   #6
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Re: Govt. to build 23 new expressways & highways in 5 years

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Originally Posted by smooth indian View Post
I am with the govt on this. I hope we have expressways and access controlled highways connecting all major cities and towns along with outer ring/bypass expressways in the top 20 or so metropolitan areas. Before this decade ends, we should be able to drive seamlessly from one corner of the country to another within 12-14 hours.

3214km in 16 hours mean ~200kmph
Not something I am comfortable doing for long distance irrespective of road condition.

I hope these expressways are constructed keeping quality in mind. IMO KMP expressway is too bouncy for 120 speed limit.
And with higher speed limits we also get cars which are comfortable doing that speed.
My honda city although perfect for my usage is too noisy at above 100-110kmph(vtec roar(?) is music for just few minutes after that its just noise).
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Old 16th August 2020, 03:05   #7
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Re: Govt. to build 23 new expressways & highways in 5 years

Reading the headline, I wondered how it'd be possible when India is sitting on record fiscal deficit!

Here's the "how" :
Quote:
...The expressways will be operated on the Toll Operate and Transfer (TOT) model. The investments will be recovered from toll collection over 15-20 years...
I've a feeling that we're going to be paying extortionate tolls to access these roads! Further, the term period of collecting these tolls is often extended endlessly.

The cascading effects of the tolls would be visible on the goods being transported through them - indirectly borne by the citizens.

We pay almost half the MRP of a car as GST+cess, additionally the road tax comes to 15-20% of the MRP, and similar taxes for fuel. All this from Post-Tax Incomes and apart from being vulnerable consumers with no Anti-Lemon car laws.

Then again, IMO this also seems like one of the sure-shot ways of getting out of being forced to use bad roads.

Instead of waiting for the combination of "honest massiah Govt. + smooth bureaucracy", which would build roads properly, maybe it's better to bite the bullet, take the tickets to business class seats and just. get. home.

Sure, it'll make some undeserving people rich, but we're a young nation and we don't have the time to wait.

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Originally Posted by smooth indian View Post
I am with the govt on this...
Not as much for/against here, every decision has its grey areas. We're neutrally discussing the merits and demerits. We as a nation have chosen to accept this Govts decisions atleast for the remaining 4 years.

Last edited by WorkingGuru : 16th August 2020 at 03:11. Reason: We're not for or against the Govt...
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Old 16th August 2020, 21:56   #8
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Re: Govt. to build 23 new expressways & highways in 5 years

Highways have been one of the few areas where government has actually worked. Thanks a lot to Shri Nitin Gadkari.

The only thing I do not like is paying toll. What for is the road tax then? Where does that money go?

Sometimes I wonder, does it really take 20 years to recover the cost of building the road, considering the surface quality is'nt really great (barring a few), no side fencing (cost-cutting), so dense highways have become (meaning increased cars on highways = decrease in time to recover cost).
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Old 17th August 2020, 08:48   #9
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Re: Govt. to build 23 new expressways & highways in 5 years

Progress of India in this way is welcome. However we need to improve the truck transport in India, improve the quality of trucks and have more stringent rules for maintenance of these vehicles.
Trucks crusing at 100 are sometimes unsafe and not capable of being controlled on sharp turns of narrow exit ways. On the other hand, trucks overloaded cruise very slowly on inclines which cause jams and are a danger to a speedy vehicle behind.
To sum it up, besides the transport infrastructure, the transport vehicles also need to be improved and further regulated.
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Old 17th August 2020, 08:54   #10
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Re: Govt. to build 23 new expressways & highways in 5 years

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Originally Posted by TusharK View Post
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) plans to complete the construction of 23 new expressways and highways by March 2025.
I haven't completely understood the identified sections, but I hope Pune Nagpur route (especially after Jalna, particularly at Sultanpur) are also looked into. Some sections are in desperate need of repairs. Nagpur is the home constituency for Shri Fadnavis and Shri Gadkari himself. Hope they make this happen.

Also, I hope/wish the road ministry makes it a policy that no new highway passes through any existing villages/settlements, and ensure no new settlements come up in the future. Arterial roads and bypasses can be constructed to/from the highway to reach such places.

I read somewhere, when Shri Modi was CM of GJ, he initiated a project of covering all open water canals with solar panels.
I hope something similar is adopted for our highway network as well. Should help generate clean energy and bring down transmission costs. Since the panels will provide shade on the road, it should help reduce wear and tear of the road / tyres, especially in summer.
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Old 17th August 2020, 09:37   #11
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Re: Govt. to build 23 new expressways & highways in 5 years

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Originally Posted by Mynameis View Post
Highways have been one of the few areas where government has actually worked. Thanks a lot to Shri Nitin Gadkari.

The only thing I do not like is paying toll. What for is the road tax then? Where does that money go?....
The road tax is collected by the state government. These highways are being constructed by NHAI which is under the central government. The Golden Quadrilateral was done by NHAI so their track record is good. Hold your state governments accountable for the road tax.
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Old 17th August 2020, 09:51   #12
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Re: Govt. to build 23 new expressways & highways in 5 years

The tolls being collected are used on maintenance of the road being tolled. The road tax being collected on vehicles today is one-time and quite low. In my opinion, tolled road concept is moving towards consumption tax rather than income tax. i.e. instead of all vehicle owners being taxed for upkeep of all roads, only the users of those roads get taxed. This is more fair and also allows for reducing the leakage in the system from road tax collection to spending on the roads. I believe the tolled system is here to stay. it removes the onus of road maintenance from the government and moves it to the private sector, where the commissionaires (companies entrusted with toll collection and road maintenance) are incentivised to maintain their roads in top condition and manage with the funds generated by the same road.
At the same time, I agree with the fact that the toll should not be collected on under construction roads, that is a major flaw in the system.
Not letting the commissionaires start collecting tolls till the road is built at least 90% should be enforced. At the same time, there should be a penalty system if there are more than 5% road damaged for over a week.
There can be a citizen reporting system put in place which allows road users to report flaws in the road surface and other amenities and more complaints than a threshold should result in a penalty on the commissionaire.

Last edited by Ravi Parwan : 17th August 2020 at 09:53. Reason: Add additional thoughts
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Old 17th August 2020, 10:12   #13
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Re: Govt. to build 23 new expressways & highways in 5 years

So, one more avenue to siphon public money. Pune and Mumbai roads leading to the expressway are in a tattered state. Potholes before you leave Pune and potholes to welcome you to Pune.
Coming back to the topic, progress is welcome as long as there is a third party, faceless audit of the work done, maintenance, expenses incurred and toll collected. While it is not a highway, the stretch from Baner exit on highway to University circle is just pathetic and whoever calls is a good road is just a moron.
The model of build and operate needs external governance and continuous audit which is just fantasy in Maharashtra at least.
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Old 17th August 2020, 11:19   #14
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Re: Govt. to build 23 new expressways & highways in 5 years

All the drama is for 2024 elections. If you observe carefully, most of these roads are supposed to be available only near or on the election year. How convenient can that be?

Right now the government is near bankrupt. Due to the covid lockdowns and job losses, they can't raise taxes or come up with new schemes to loot the public. Hence these new ideas of money spining by making new roads, trains airports etc. The hope is that public spending on infrastructure may raise the economy and boost spending
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Old 17th August 2020, 12:13   #15
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Re: Govt. to build 23 new expressways & highways in 5 years

We need expressways for our country. Period. Welcome news.

I am not against paying toll taxes but at least use the money for what it is intended for. At least the couple of new expressways that I use frequently don't bode well for 120kmph driving. Anyone who has taken KMP expressway can vouch for the sudden roller-coasters which come in the way.

And keep these tolls at some distance. Tolling every 30kms is loot. For a distance of roughly 200 km from Gurugram to Karnal, I pay at KMP Kundli, then another 10 km at Murthal, another 50km at Panipat and then another one at 30 km just before Karnal. The worst part is that the last 3 tolls are for AH44 which is under construction. Tolls are for maintenance purpose, not for creating fund for construction of the tolled road itself.

Build good roads, have good supporting services and safety control points. I have absolutely no issues for paying tolls if they save me time and offer safe travel.

Last edited by headbanger : 17th August 2020 at 12:15.
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