These roads are nowhere near the requisite standards because everyone is ready to cut corners and save some cost.

BHPian NomadSK recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Design of roads and workmanship of these roads is a simple sham in India. Let me give you a few real inputs as per the experience I had with the NHAI cost control and audit team for a very brief period.

This was around the time when the Golden Quadrilateral was in progress and the section was SMTP (Surat-Manor Tollway Project). The reason to set up this audit was that the construction cost was exponentially increasing. 3 major contractors, Dodsal, L&T, LG engg and SKEC were awarded the contract of a section of around 200 odd kms and they had sublet their work to local/cheap agencies. This project was funded by ADB.

The road section was 2 layers of GSB, 2 layers of WMM and 2 layers of DBM of various thicknesses. NHAI had instructed all its senior officials from the audit department to collect samples, check the quality of the surface, interview the personnel from the contractor's depart whether they have qualified people to do the job and also check the source of the material from where aggregates sand etc were procured. And find the root cause for the delay and the substandard quality of the work. All these results need to be sent to the respective project directors. There was a murmur about the road quality works and various complaints during that time.

Following were the resulting outcome

• Inexperienced people doing the roadwork jobs, technicians had limited knowledge of the work. Even the engineers deployed were inexperienced and lacked the expertise.
• Main contractors have sublet the work to various cheap agencies ready to do the work.
• Poor quality of construction material being supplied.
• QA/QC was almost non-existent. Field labs to be set up as per the contract were a showpiece, even some of the testing equipment wasn’t calibrated.
• Using cheap grade of bitumen.
• DBM mixes were consistently failing, data at the field labs was fudged and fabricated.
• Same mix design was utilized even when the source of material was changed.
• Retired NHAI officials were employed at these contractor companies. You get the gist.
• The structural section of the road was around 1m and when coring was done it was found to be very less. And Dodsal was blacklisted even after the re-work was carried out and there was a delay due to this.
• Local Mafia/politicos got the sublet projects in whatever section the work was going on.
• Black marketing of Bitumen as all refineries were not producing it and scarcity of it made private players come into the picture.
• Poor equipment used for compaction, PTR (Pneumatic) was almost non-existent. We saw a vibra roller being used for asphalt compaction and a grader used for spreading the DBM, a clear red flag, at that time even I didn’t know what was wrong with that, till the tech team elucidated me.
• Cost cutting and cutting corners, haphazard construction practices, not following the plan. I remember one culvert went off-centre by 1-2m and the whole section of road was required to change the alignment. This small bridge still exists near Billimoria.

There might be many more reasons, but this is what the technical report found out in 3/4 months with the Audit team.

End Result

We have so-called "Expressways", which are nowhere near the requisite standards because everyone is ready to cut corners and save some cost. In fact, they become more dangerous as speed goes up and with faulty design. Driving on them at design speeds is kind of a roller coaster ride, let's accept that. It's the design of the roads and the furniture around it which is the biggest safety hazard at the moment and I don't think we have to blame the cars for that.

There's a cost tag attached to Safety and Quality, unless we understand this we will always be penny wise and pound foolish.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

The road surface is bumpy beyond 80 km/h. At 120 km/h, I would imagine it being a roller coaster-type ride.

BHPian MadinMumbai recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Driving down the much-lauded Eastern Peripheral Expressway in Delhi, I came across signs setting the speed limit @120kmph. I couldn’t help but think- what are these guys smoking?

The road surface is bumpy beyond 80 kmph, and when the car hits a joint I find it difficult to keep my lunch. At 120 kmph, I would imagine it being a roller coaster-type ride. Does anyone else feel that 120 kmph is an abstract figure, plucked out of the air? I do hope other expressways are better designed else we are in for some serious traffic mess and mayhem.

Here's what GTO had to say about the matter:

There is no real science to our authorities assigning speed limits to roads, and I see blunders all the time. For instance, 30 kmph speed limit on the JJ Flyover is painstakingly slow and dare I say… dangerous too.

On the other hand, I saw a 100 kmph speed limit on such a 2-lane highway in Goa (not exactly this point, but a similar patch after this one)! Was very surprised - it's too high for this kind of road:

100 kmph for the arrow-straight Atal Setu is too low in my opinion. It should be 120 kmph.

Here's what BHPian Mystic had to say about the matter:

I have done research in civil engineering and am also a petrolhead. Let me give my opinion.

• In India, we have 120 kmph as the MAXIMUM speed limit for expressways, 110 kmph for national highways and 70 kmph for urban roads for the M1 category of vehicles. The M1 category includes most passenger vehicles which have fewer than 8 seats.
• What is the quality of road construction in India as per the world standards in specifications? The answer is poor for the obvious reasons. The Government releases the funds and related speed limits as per certain specifications for a type of road but in reality, the contractor has to take care of the obvious formalities and compromises on quality.
• Inspite of point 2, we still have engineers who will give their lives for the maintenance of quality in such prestigious expressway projects India is building now (my father is one among them as he retired as Chief Engineer of Roads with the Government). It is not only the quality of materials that go into roads but there are also a lot of so many parameters like camber etc that need to be taken care of otherwise the car going at 120 kmph will be thrown out tangentially and we see such stunts very frequently on our expressways in India. Some expressways are too good and some are not and hence it is up to the Driver to take a call and not get carried by the power of an individual car.

Camber in Road, refers to the curvature or slope provided to the surface of a road or any other paved surface. It is designed to ensure proper drainage of water from the road surface and provide improved safety and comfort for vehicles and pedestrians.

• There are risks involved with Indian roads in spite of a perfectly constructed expressway and 12-cylinder car, we never know if we see suddenly a person / 3-wheeler shared autos or an animal crossing the road at the most unexpected moment. I have personally travelled in multi-axle Volvo buses maintained by Governments and they go at a cruising speed of 100 kmph maximum even if the vehicle is capable of higher speeds because the Govt puts electronic control on their buses with GPS tracking. I wish the personal vehicle drivers also not go beyond 3 digits in India. Let us drive in a defensive manner and get a chance to live for another day to ourselves and our fellow passengers.

Here's what BHPian Shreyans_Jain had to say about the matter:

Depends on your car. While the surface is not baby-butt smooth, it is still very decent. Cars with good dynamics can easily cruise at 120 all day here. Of course, a host of vehicles, especially sub 15 lakh, are totally out of their depth at such speeds with their rear ends continuously bobbing up and down. List includes all Marutis except S Cross, Brezza and GV, all Hyundais apart from the current gen Verna, Venue and Creta, and all Hondas. We have started getting world-class roads, but mass-market cars with decent highway speed manners are still few and far between. Manufacturers have been guilty of short-charging us here, exactly like with crash safety.

Secondly, maintenance also comes into play here. Bad suspensions, tire sidewall bulges, improper pressures, balancing issues etc will all catch you out.

120 kmph is the default on all new world-class roads being built. Personally, I feel the infra is good enough for 150 kmph, but the cars are not there yet in terms of output. Already, lanes get choked by trucks not going faster than 60-70 and waves of wheezy 1.2NA engined Marutis, Hyundais and Tatas all going at about the same speed and struggling to overtake each other. It is literally the expressway version of 3 autos hogging 3 lanes, trying to sneak ahead. Delta in performance with the latest turbo petrols is too much. If we want American-style roads, we also need that kind of power from the engines.

Here's what BHPian MotoBlip had to say about the matter:

I get what you're saying. I've driven between Delhi and Jaipur twice on the new expressway, and despite all the hype about it being a world-class road, I wasn't impressed. The trip back, especially the first 70 kilometers or so from Dausa to Delhi, was really bad, especially considering that it's a new highway. Even though there wasn't much traffic, the road was bumpy and there were already patches on the surface.

On top of that, the toll charges are almost Rs2/km, so naturally, one expects better. Granted, the cars I used aren't top-of-the-line, but they feel perfectly fine on the Yamuna expressway, which is a decade old and I drive on at least once a month. Moreover, a colleague recently drove the same stretch in a Volkswagen Vento and had a similar experience, so I don't think the cars are to blame here.

Maybe there are geographical reasons for the road's condition, but right now, I'll be honest and say these highways aren't world-class yet. They seem to be rushing things, and I think that's why the quality suffers.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

I drove on the newly built Bharuch-Vadodara stretch, which saved me an hour's travel time.

BHPian vattyboy recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

I recently travelled from Surat to Udaipur and decided to take the newly built Bharuch-Vadodara stretch of the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, which was inaugurated by PM Modi a few weeks ago. Here are some things to keep in mind if you plan to take this expressway:

1. To access this expressway, you must leave the regular Ahmedabad-Mumbai highway and take a left turn from Ankeleshwar from the underpass.
2. Once you've driven 30 km, you will enter this expressway.
3. The surface quality and smoothness of the expressway are decent and better than Samruddhi Mahamarg, which I drove on recently.
4. There is no traffic on this expressway. I set my cruise control to 120 km/h and only disengaged it when the expressway ended.
5. There is no toll for this expressway for now.
6. Although speed cameras are installed, they are not functional yet.
7. It's sad to see that local villagers were entering the expressway, riding bikes on the wrong side, taking photos, and even playing cricket at one spot. It seems to be a picnic destination for them. To ensure safety, I recommend avoiding the last left lane while driving.
8. This expressway ends and joins the 4-lane Vadodara-Ahmedabad expressway, 10 km ahead of Vadodara.
9. Due to the good speeds I maintained, it took me only one hour to travel 10 km ahead of Vadodara from Bharuch.
10. I reached Vadodara in 2.5 hours instead of continuing on the old Ahmedabad-Mumbai highway, which would have taken 3.5 hours.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

Got it this January and have driven it from Mumbai to Delhi and back and then to Pune and back.

BHPian karan1977 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

I own the GLA 200 (Petrol) 2024. Got it this January and have driven it from Mumbai to Delhi and back and then to Pune and back.

After 4000+kms. running here are my observations:

Pros:

• Refined engine
• Smooth gear shifts
• Paddle shifters make the driving fun
• Beautiful interiors
• Plenty of storage space in the front, the front centre armrest is super spacious
• The air conditioning is good (although I am yet to drive it in 40-degree + temperatures)
• Blind spot assist is a good feature
• 360-degree camera is really useful
• Good music system
• The multimedia interface is smooth and easy to use
• Auto parking is fun to use although it sometimes does not detect an empty slot
• Very good suspension, it's soft but not too soft making the ride comfortable

Cons:

• Missing rear window blinds
• Missing rear centre armrest
• Missing ventilated seats
• Opening the tailgate with your foot gesture does not work most of the time, or maybe I am not getting the hang of it
• ADAS auto braking is scary. I have had the car brake on its own for no reason whatsoever. Somehow it falsely detects something in front and slams the brakes. This has happened twice on Mumbai roads. Fortunately, there was no one behind me, or else I would have been rear-ended. So now I have to disable the Auto Brake Assist feature every time I start the car.
• The front seats are not comfortable for long drives. My wife and I drove for 14 hours on the first day and 8 hours on the 2nd day
• Mercedes Navigation is not as dependable as Google Maps
• The seat kinetics feature is gimmicky, I don't think it made my long drive more comfortable
• The rear camera pops out every time the car slows down or the vehicle behind comes close. And it is noisy! On the first day, I thought there was some loose item in the boot. Mercedes should have kept it simple and just provided a fixed camera in the rear
• The air conditioning automatically changes over to take in air from the outside every 15 minutes or so. So you have to press the internal air circulation button every time you smell smoke or stink

Before I give the mileage figures I would like to point out that my wife and I drive the car sedately. We don't rev the engine high and prefer smooth and gentle acceleration. And we keep the air conditioning on all the time.

Mileage:

• Mumbai rush hour traffic - 4 kmp
• Mumbai nonrush hour traffic, avg speed 40 kmph - 10 kmpl
• Mumbai Delhi Expressway (NE 4), constant speed 120 kmph, RPM 2000 - 16.5 KMPL
• National Highways, average speed 60 kmph - 18 kmpl
• Mumbai Delhi Expressway (NE 4), constant speed 90 kmph, RPM 1400 - 20 kmpl

Mumbai Delhi Expressway observations

• Incomplete. Starts from Sohna near Gurgaon and goes to Sawai Madhopur in Rajasthan. Thereafter you need to take the state and national highways to Bhanpura interchange near Jhalawar in Rajasthan. This goes all the way to the MP - Gujarat border. The Gujarat state highway that starts from the Gujarat border is terrible and full of potholes. But after some time you get on to the national highway and can go all the way to Vadodara. From Vadodara, you again get on to NE 4 (Mumbai Delhi Expressway) and travel to Bharuch. Surprisingly this 120 km stretch is the only portion of the expressway open in Gujarat.
• There are very few food malls open on the entire expressway. Most of it is still being constructed
• I did not see any operational gas stations on the expressway. So please ensure that you have plenty of gas before you get on the expressway
• I spotted just one electric vehicle charging station (Sohna to Dausa stretch)
• The road is smooth but not level for most of the journey. So you will experience smooth gradual climbs and descents
• There is hardly any traffic

• I have seen idiots stop their vehicles in the extreme left lane and walk across to the extreme right lane just to take cuttings of the beautiful bogeanvilla plants!
• There was an opening in the fence on the left and I saw a farmer bring his buffalos to cross the expressway. This was in Madhya Pradesh if I am not mistaken

While going to Delhi I took the Nashik - Indore highway and short of Indore I turned left and reached Ratlam from where I took the expressway
On my way back I came via Gujarat. Out of the two routes, I liked the Nashik route better because the state highways in Gujarat were terrible and the traffic from Bharuch to Surat was bad. Both being industrial towns, the highways are full of trucks and there is massive air pollution because of the industries.

Final conclusions

I am happy with the car, it's beautiful to look at and drive. No regrets about buying it.

Trip from Noida to Mumbai via Gujarat

• Distance - 1440 kms
• Home-to-home mileage - 16.1 kmpl
• 23 hours travelling time
• 91 litres of petrol (Rs 9500)
• One-way toll around 1800

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

The connectivity from the expressway to Jaipur city is not good.

BHPian Amity recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Recently, I travelled from Faridabad to Jaipur and back on the Delhi-Mumbai expressway. Here are my observations:

I completed the onward journey of more than 270 Kms in around 3.5 hours (excluding a break at one of the rest stops and some Google Maps misdirections). The return journey from Nahargarh Fort to Faridabad took almost 4.5 hours due to Google Maps, a jam on the entry ramp from Jaipur and unruly traffic at Ballabhgarh.

The entry onto Faridabad bypass from Mathura Road (NH19) is not properly marked on Google Maps and it will just make you go in rounds. Instead of taking the correct exit onto the service road and then a U-turn under the bypass flyover to get onto the ramp, Google Maps takes you in the wrong direction and then asks you to get onto the bypass where there is no ramp at all and it will keep asking you to go in circles. The surface of the Faridabad bypass road is much better than the actual expressway. There are much fewer undulations and it is predictable. However, patrolling is not proper as I saw two-wheelers on this stretch. Though there are street lights on the Faridabad bypass stretch, the majority of them were not switched on.

The expressway, though wide and properly marked, does not boast of a good surface. There are a lot of undulations and jolts on the expressway, especially near flyovers or bridges. It is not a completely smooth ride. Already I could see many patchworks in the expressway and repair works were also going on. This doesn’t bode well for a flagship project. There is almost negligible patrolling on the whole stretch as I didn’t see patrolling vehicles during my travel. I believe there should be round-the-clock patrolling on this stretch as it passes through isolated areas. The boundary wall is already broken in many places and people were grazing goats in the area between the boundary wall and the main carriageway. This makes it risky for everyone and something which could be prevented if there was proper enforcement and regular patrolling. Local people were sitting on the railings of the expressway taking pictures or talking on phones as if it was some community park. It was a common feature throughout the expressway which shows a lack of willingness on the part of authorities to prevent such things.

There are some rest stops along the expressway but all of them are not functional. Some have coming soon boards showing for Starbucks, Dunkin’ Donuts, Domino’s Pizza, etc. at the rest stops. Hopefully, it’ll be better by the time the complete expressway opens up. The washrooms at one of the normal rest stops (IIRC 99 km rest stop while going towards Jaipur) were much much cleaner than McDonald’s washrooms (coming from Jaipur) on the expressway. NHAI had constructed basic buildings for rest stops and now the same are being brought down/ refurbished by restaurants to bring it to their own designs. This I feel is a waste of time and money as NHAI could’ve just allotted some open slots to restaurants to bring up their own buildings. By constructing such basic buildings, NHAI must’ve paid contractors which must have been part of the consideration for deciding the toll amount and now the same is being brought down by restaurants as per their convenience. I believe it would’ve been much cheaper to just allot blocks and let restaurants construct their own buildings.

Alongside those boundary walls, locals have opened shops/ dhabas and truck drivers park their trucks on the shoulder to fetch something or have food. There were many trucks at such stops, sometimes more than 5 also. Such illegal stops are risky for everyone on an expressway and again highlight the lack of patrolling and enforcement on the expressway. I do hope that economical options are made available to truck drivers at the rest stops as it may not be feasible for them to otherwise have meals at eateries at rest stops. I saw trucks making a U-turn in the middle of the expressway and then driving on the wrong side at full speed, likely to one of the illegal shops/ dhabas they missed. There is no lane discipline on the expressway as trucks were there on all 4 lanes and cars had to zigzag through it all. This again shows a lack of patrolling and enforcement on the expressway.

The connectivity from the expressway to Jaipur city is not good. It takes you through the crowded parts of the city and wastes a lot of time. I saw that construction has already started on Greenfield Road to connect with Jaipur. I hope it is completed very soon as it will further reduce the time by at least 30 minutes. The entry ramp for the expressway while coming from Jaipur is very small and the toll plaza is almost at the start of the ramp. While returning, most of the toll booths on this ramp were non-functional due to so be technical faults and traffic was already stretching to the highway from the ramp. The staff at the toll plaza was completely clueless about dealing with it. They let us pass after keeping us waiting for more than 5 minutes. One surprising thing I noticed was that there is no separate toll plaza while entering from Faridabad bypass or exiting from the expressway to Faridabad bypass. I am guessing the toll plaza at Faridabad bypass ( which charges INR 50 for every single journey) doubles up as an entry/ exit toll plaza for the Expressway. It appears that our tag was not scanned at the entry ramp at Jaipur and therefore, no amount was deducted from the Fastag account when we exited the expressway onto the Faridabad bypass.

Most of the speed cameras were not working on the expressway. Also, the speed shown on the cameras was almost 2 km/h less than the speed shown on the car speedometer. The exit ramp at Ballabhgarh onto NH 19 is very narrow and the service road where the ramp merges, itself is narrow. This was made worse by wrong side local traffic on the service road and caused a jam for at least half an hour, with no police to control it.

I believe it’s a good effort but needs a lot of support from people and law enforcement agencies to improve its standards.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

430 advanced CCTV cameras will be installed at 106 locations along the e-way by mid-October.

The Mumbai-Pune Expressway is monitored closely around the clock for traffic violations. Now, with upgraded systems in place, it's going to get really difficult to speed on the access-controlled e-way.

The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) is installing 430 advanced CCTV cameras at 106 locations along the route by mid-October.

Sanjay Yadav, the joint MD of MSRDC, revealed that all cameras will be interconnected through an optical fibre network to a central control room. An Intelligent Traffic Management System (ITMS) will document various traffic violations, such as excessive speeding, reckless driving, wrong-way driving, motorway stops, lane changes, and driving in the wrong lane, among others.

The system will also feature a spot and average speed detection system at 39 locations and a lane discipline violation detection system at 34 locations. 130 spots on the e-way will be equipped with wrong-way entry detection, while variable messaging signs and weather monitoring systems will be installed at 23 locations and 11 locations, respectively.

The system will also keep an eye on commercial vehicles. There will be weigh-in-motion systems at all entry points. An automatic vehicle counter and classifier will be installed at toll booths, along with automatic number plate recognition and violation detection cameras for penalty collection.

Mobile surveillance vans and emergency vehicles like towing vans, ambulances and cranes will be equipped with displays, cameras and a vehicle tracking system.

A command and control centre located at Lonavala will receive the feed from all the cameras. Officials will also be able to access the feed online. Violation challans will be generated immediately and validated by officials with photo and video evidence.

Source: Mid-day

The road surface is butter smooth and consistently so. No shoddy work anywhere. Expansion joints on bridges are well done.

BHPian vivek95 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Hello guys, this is my feedback on the all new upgraded Bangalore--Mysore 6 lane highway.

As part of my Mumbai--Belgaum--Bangalore--Mysore drive, I got a chance to try this awesome piece of a road. I come from a state ( Maharashtra) which has two proper "Expressways" on date - 1. Mumbai--Pune Expressway that was built and thrown open to traffic since year 2002 and 2. The most recent Mumbai--Nagpur Expressway operational since Dec 2022 ( Bharvir--Shirdi--Nagpur 600 kms to be precise as the last 100 kms Mumbai will be ready by mid-2024 ). I am highly frequent on Mumbai--Pune Expressway and driven twice on Mumbai--Nagpur Expressway , so can fairly comment on Bangalore--Mysore highway whether it's an Expressway or not:

• To begin with, the all new Bangalore--Mysore highway is absolutely brilliant, period ! Kudos to the builder Dilip Buildcon based out of Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh.
• The road surface is butter smooth and consistently so. No shoddy work anywhere. Expansion joints on bridges are well done.
• Immaculate road markings, nice median and 2 huge beautiful toll plazas. The median did not have the typical railing and also the width didn't match the standards of proper expressways like Mumbai--Pune/Nagpur but hey that's insignificant. The present median serves it purpose, no complaints.
• Thoughtfully constructed dedicated service roads on either sides all along the entire stretch. Continuous fencing in place demarcating the service lanes.
• I drove onward on 1st August 2023 and marshals were standing at the exits/entry lanes preventing local 2-wheeler and 3-wheeler/ all kinds of slow moving vehicles from entering the highway. They were directed to take service roads but some people somehow managed to escape and I spotted considerable number of slow moving 2-wheelers/3-wheelers and also two instances of wrong side driving!! But during return drive on 8th August 2023, all this was gone. There was not a single 2 wheeler spotted anywhere. Looks like the regulations are enforced strictly and hopefully all the issues have been sorted out. So, this and the above point qualifies for being called "Access controlled".
• Didn't feel that the road was unscientifically designed at any point. Start to end the road felt safe while driving at speeds over 100 kmph. Some people had reported that there were water logging incidents at some parts even after very light rain but I am not sure regarding this aspect as it didn't feel like monsoon in Karnataka at all with absolutely no rains whatsoever, totally dry ( been raining crazily in Mumbai here ). I didn't find anything significant to point out that the road design has any flaws. It is excellent end to end.
• There's an official speed limit of 100 kmph on right most lane and 80 kmph on middle lane. Honestly my speeds were consistently 100-120 kmph, mostly 110 kmph at all times. I covered the 117 kms stretch from starting point at Bangalore till the end point at Mysore in exactly 1 hour 14 mins during onward and 1 hour 15 mins on the wayback.
• At certain places where the two carriageways come in close proximation, the median has thoughtfully placed green coloured barriers/boards that blocks the oncoming glare. Another good safety aspect.
• The only small drawback was exits/entry lanes not being built as proper interchanges. They appear suddenly and feel like ordinary / substandard exits from an otherwise marvellous excellent highway.
• By now you might have realised that I totally loved this new highway. I had previously driven on old Bangalore--Mysore highway four times in last 5 years and it was a pain. The new one is brilliant transformation and was long due for Bangalore--Mysore sector. It's completely a stress free experience today.
• This road would have indeed been a proper "Expressway", had the exit/entry lanes being properly built as interchanges. Apart from that every single aspect of this road seems like an Expressway without any doubt.

To sum it up, the all new Bengaluru--Mysuru highway is an excellent "High speed access controlled 6 lane highway". I am extremely happy overall and would love to drive here again and again !!!!

Sharing few pics and a video:

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The introduction of things like road reflectors and rumble strips on highways appears to be counterproductive for all the positive advancements.

BHPian sarathlal recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Came across this news article quoting Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari:

"Vehicle speed has improved with the improved highways in the country, so now we will have to make tyres of international standard. We will soon make norms as per the requirement of international standard tyres so that there is no accident due to tyre burst."

And have to applaud the high-quality road surfaces we are getting on these newly constructed highways and expressways.

While this is a good idea to focus more on equipping vehicles to be better prepared for the improved infrastructure, have a few queries in terms of new ‘particles’ being introduced onto the newly built roads that are actually pulling the system in the opposite way.

Inadvertent usage of Static road reflectors

Road reflectors are critical elements that should be used on roads for better nighttime illumination. But what we could observe about the newly built roads, is their inadvertent usage.

These reflectors are scattered haphazardly all over the roads instead of being arranged in one or two lines in an evenly spaced manner. And the frequency of such strips is very high. These series of strips appear every 300-400 meters on some roads. Will this not damage the vehicle tyres eventually, or at least accelerate the deterioration? Not to mention their condition after a couple of months with the nuts and bolts exposed.

Rumble strips made out of paint

Again, these are critical elements that should be there on the road. The problem is, these are not built to any standards. Some of them are very thick that it literally rattles out the entire vehicle while running over. Worst case, these are placed at corners sometimes which could destabilise vehicles running over. The rumbling sound that it creates is another level of sound pollution for those living near these places. More on this here.

Both of the above could have been ok and required if done right. For eg - a single lane of around 4 pieces per side of the road for the reflectors and ~5 mm thick rumble strips.

These appear to be newly introduced (within the last couple of years) particles to road infrastructure. Wondering if they are really thought through as they appear to be counterproductive for all the positive advancements made in terms of road infrastructure.

Won't these eventually contribute to a higher frequency of tyre burst-induced accidents as the overall vehicle speed increase on the expressways?

(The above example is from a city road, but it is the same condition on city roads, state highways as well as national highways)

Here's what BHPian GForceEnjoyer had to say about the matter:

Definitely, this is a situation of one step forward (new infrastructure such as expressways) and half a step back (things like rumble strips). They definitely accelerate vehicle wear and it sometimes fills me with rage thinking about how we have to subject our prized possessions to such involuntary abuse.

However, I'd say that this isn't nearly the worst consequence. The most severe suffering is imposed on two-wheeler riders. The situation in Hyderabad for example, has gotten so bad that many people are complaining of severe back issues due to this. A damaged suspension can ultimately be replaced, but can a damaged spine?

This video is in Telugu, but the sheer number of people speaking up about this in the nearly two-hour-long video is enough to understand the magnitude of the problem.

The long-term damage caused by these measures will be substantial. Mounting vehicle repair bills, a ton of noise pollution (this is a genuine negative externality imposed on anyone living near roads) and the increased risk of fatality. This is worsened by the sheer number of rumble strips (infused with reflectors or not) being laid down. Look at this horrific satellite view from Hyderabad for example.

Or this picture I personally took on a national highway in Maharashtra.

The problem definitely isn't confined to just these two locations either.

Isn't it ironic to see that something touted as a "traffic calming measure" or "safety device" brings so many of its own perils? Countless times, I've felt vehicles lose traction if braking on rumble stirps or simply driving at any speed over rumble strips on curves. There is a genuine risk of a loss of control if someone is unable to counter-steer, which can cause a nasty accident.

Moreover, it causes traffic to behave haphazardly, with some road users slowing to a crawl and some trying to speed up (because ironically, in most cases, the slower you are, the more severely you are physically rattled by these). This creates a very unpredictable and dangerous situation.

So yes, such measures definitely have the potential to increase the number of mishaps in the long run. Not to mention the annoyance and inconvenience that has now been discussed extensively here and here.

Here's what BHPian windrider had to say about the matter:

Those thick rumble strips are a real pain. I am forced to run my Alto and two-wheelers a couple of PSI lower than what the manufacturer suggests just to stop my spine from disintegrating. The dashboard of the alto shakes violently when I pass over these strips even at slow speeds that I am forced to slow down to almost 20-25kmph when driving over them. My Honda City on the other is able to deal with them a lot better. I think if the govt could slightly reduce the thickness and increase the gap between each individual strip, it wouldn't be such an issue. At present, it feels like driving over a washboard.

Another major problem I am facing is the huge expansion joints on newly built flyovers. Some of them are so deep, that if you are at speeds above 100, you feel like you are literally flying out of them. I remember travelling in the middle east, and the expansion joints on those flyovers never felt so jarring and they were constructed in the 70s and 80s during the Gulf boom. It's sad that we can't get such basic things right even in 2023.

Here's what BHPian cryptarchy had to say about the matter:

I recently drove on parts of the newly built Dwarka Expressway that is open to local traffic. I was going way under the proposed speed limit. But the expansion joints on the flyovers are so badly built that there is no way cars can go the speed limit and be stable. My car was like a kangaroo on those expansion joints.

Here's what BHPian TheVegabond had to say about the matter:

There are 3 major issues that I have been facing whenever I drive on the expressways:

• Truckers using the rightmost lane - this is something coming from the years-long practice of driving on single-lane narrow highways where frequent braking is needed on left lanes due to obstructions caused by autos/cycles/bikes/jaywalkers. On access-controlled expressways these truckers occupy the lanes on the right and, drive relatively slowly causing the fast vehicles to zig-zag through this slow-moving traffic - this can cause severe accidents.
• Expansion joints and uneven curves - Irrespective of which expressway you are driving on, the expansion joints are so badly designed/executed that they almost always catch you by surprise and can cause you to lose control when driving at more than 70km/hr. Same is the story with curves, especially at the start/end of a flyover - the road is usually uneven slopping vigorously towards the curving side causing you to brake hard and, hope that the vehicles behind you do the same.
• Wrong side driving - Local drivers especially tractors happily drive on the wrong side of Access controlled expressways with entry/exits/u-turns few and far between. No point arguing with them as they would never understand what an expressway is.

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Fatigued/Intoxicated drivers should stop and relax at designated places to park their vehicles. Such signage on the roads should be encouraged for the sake of safety.

BHPian susan3004 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

I drove on the Samruddhi Mahamarg while going to Aurangabad from Nagpur and while coming back the next week. My thoughts and views remained mostly the same as they are while on other roads.

I don't see any flaw in the design of the expressway, rather it is one of the best roads in the country.

Any quantum of counselling/briefing would not overcome the mere attitude of the travellers and staunch disregard to the authority and logic associated to it. The attitude of most of the drivers/travellers is against anybody who has words of wisdom to offer. We display sheer bravado in disregarding authority. Albeit, it would be a time consuming event which would not be appreciated by the commuter.

Following are the observations which need merit to ensure safety on all roads, more so on such expressways:

Lane Driving:

Vehicles occupying two lanes instead of any one lane irks the overtaking traffic and also disturbs the flow of vehicles approaching from behind. Changing of lanes with precaution while driving is never a problem, however, occupying two lanes at 'safe speeds' are a bigger hazard on the road for self and others.

Minimum Speed:

Maintaining minimum speed is more important than crossing the speed limit by few kmph. Overtaking speed allowances are not talked about ever. The debate after two vehicles bump into each other begins and concludes by accusing the other of driving 'so fast'. The definition of fast remains a mystery while the blame game is on. By maintaining minimum speed, it would be ensured that vehicles generally move at a similar speed without surprising others.

Unsolicited Braking:

Associated point with the above; when drivers have been found to brake without any reason while the field of view is clear to the vehicle following behind. The vehicle following behind in the same lane has a reason to believe that the vehicle ahead should maintain similar speed as it has been till now as there is no obstacle up ahead. This is a dangerous trend which results in rear ending.

Leisure Parking:

Vehicles are parked on the side curbs and even otherwise. The reasons to such halts include breaks associated with easing oneself(call of the nature), throwing up, generally by the passengers, stretching limbs, clicking selfies/making videos by influencers and everybody and finally to cater for mechanical failure including flats. On the Samruddhi Mahamarg, it has been noticed with concern that vehicles have been flocking to stop under the shade of overbridges created as wildlife crossings. Passengers tend to step out of the vehicles and dangerously roam on the road which poses a treat to the other vehicles which have no intentions to stop like that.

Jaywalking

People crossing over the road or walking into it with no regard to the oncoming vehicles is a major reason of fatalities.

Feeding Animals

By feeding animals along the roads, there increases the chances of these animals straying on the roads and consequently disrupting the traffic or leading to accidents.

Ill-maintained vehicles:

Poor mechanical condition of the vehicle is major reason for failure to keep up with the safety of self and others. This includes worn out tyres too.

Fatigue and Intoxication:

Fatigued/Intoxicated drivers should stop and relax at designated places to park their vehicles. Such signage on the roads should be encouraged for the sake of safety.

Driving on the Wrong Side:

One of the biggest and the worst reasons leading to accidents. These errants should be dealt with utmost strictness by authorities and also if law abiding drivers bring the defaulter to the notice of the authorities, it should be ensured that action against them is initiated to nip this problem.

The above observations were made on the Samruddhi Expressway during my travel.

Discarded and smashed liquor bottles and other containers present a negative image and gives an impression that we as counrtymen are not interested in taking care of the assets and perhaps not proud of our nation.

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Having driven on autobahns and autostradas, I would rate the expressway a 7/10.

BHPian vinayrathore recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Was lucky to have travelled on this expressway from Dausa to Sohna on 13th Feb 2023. Let me begin with some overall details and also the placement of this expressway and what it takes for someone who wants to travel from Jaipur to Delhi or vice versa.

Well, as we all know, this stretch is part of the grander Delhi-Vadodara-Mumbai Expressway christened NE-04 which is slated to be completely operational by March 2023. The sole motive of this expressway is to connect the two metros of Delhi and Mumbai in the shortest possible manner both in terms of distance and time. Hence it is almost a straight line if you plot this on the map. This is one reason it does not get its alignment to pass near any other major city apart from Vadodara which too I reckon is to avoid the Sahyadri ranges and also to supplement the already operational Vadodara Ahmedabad Expressway or NE01 as seen in the map I tried to plot below.

Now let's talk about the expressway's alignment to Jaipur or the lack of it. Well, for now, it's connected via the Jaipur Agra Highway NH 21 (Old NH 11) near Dausa. This makes it approximately 70 Kms or 1.5 hours away from the Jaipur City Center. There is a separate greenfield spur that will connect the Expressway to Jaipur directly also under work and the contract has already been awarded for the same. This should make access from Jaipur slightly smoother and faster.

New Greenfield spurs under works.

Coming to my travel, I had plans to start early in the day so as to reach the Dausa intersection by early afternoon but got late and could start only by 3 pm from Jaipur home. Our place is on the outskirts but totally on the opposite end therefore had to cross the entire city from west to east. Thankfully traffic was mild and could touch the Ghat ki Guni Tunnel within 30~40 mins and took another hour to reach Dausa partly thanks to a few interceptors I encountered early on. Not that I tend to overspend, but the limits are enforced in a manner that it's difficult to keep a tab on the current limit so you end up driving a tad bit slow.

My route from home till Sohna intersection. "National Highway 21" marked on the map is the intersection point near Dausa.

On a related note, Highway Traffic police in RJ is always on overdrive with speed cameras and this stretch was no different. You can find one of the highest concentrations of speed cams on the NH 48 stretch of the Delhi Jaipur Highway between Behror and Jaipur. So much so that you will see one interceptor Car or Bike every few kms. But that's a story for another thread.

As I crossed the Dausa bypass, I stopped for a quick tea break as was not sure I would get anything once I am on the expressway. Tea and water loaded, I would rather let the pictures do the talking from here on.

NH 21 near Dausa. Can be sparred like this,

Or a sudden rush of traffic, two-wheelers and otherwise.

First sight of the Expressway once you cross Dausa Bypass

My Jetta stretched its legs after a long long time. My Cruise Control was set to 120 KMPH entirely barring some bursts of speed in between.

Let's talk a bit about surface quality. Well, I have driven on some of the world's best highways (no boasting that is) from Autobahns to Autostradas. So if Autobahns where even 200 km/h feels like 80 km/h on the best Indian road surface is rated at 10, I would rate the NE04 somewhere around 7. Comparatively, the surface quality is not very smooth, expansion joints still give jolts and there are undulations which will give cars with soft suspension some scary moments at the max speed limit. Having said the above, all the other good roads in India (NE01 Ahmedabad Vadodara, NE02 the EPE, NE03 the Delhi Meerut expressway or even the Mumbai Pune Expressway) can be rated at 5 or at best 6. And the best thing about the surface is that it's all tarmac and not concrete.

Another break at sunset as I neared the Sohna intersection.

This road merges with the Gurugram-Sohna Expressway which connects further to Rajiv Chowk. It's another 60 Kms before you hit Delhi which in traffic it can take anywhere from 1 to 1.5 hours.

All in all, it took me 1.5 + 2 + 1 = 4.5 hours home to home which is not bad compared to the regular NH48 where it takes anywhere between 4.5 to 7 hours depending on the time of day and traffic conditions. And not to mention the stress you get from crazy truck drivers, local traffic and last but not least the huge moon craters that take a bad toll on your vehicle as well.

Hope that gives some perspective to the fellow BHPians. Signing off for now.

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