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The national highways in India are a network of limited access roads owned by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. National highways have flyover access or some controlled-access, where entrance and exit is through the side of the flyover. At each highway intersection, flyovers are provided to bypass the traffic on the city, town, or village. These highways are designed for speeds of 100 km/h. Some national highways have interchanges in between, but do not have total controlled-access throughout the highways. The highways are constructed and managed by the Central Public Works Department (CPWD), the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL), and the public works departments (PWD) of state governments. Currently, the longest national highway in India is National Highway 44 at 4,112 km (2,555 mi). India started four laning of major national highways with the National Highway Development Project (NHDP). As of March 2022 India has approximately 35,000 km of four laned National highways.

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL) are the nodal agencies responsible for building, upgrading, and maintaining most of the National Highways network. It operates under the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. The National Highways Development Project (NHDP) is a major effort to expand and upgrade the network of highways. NHAI often uses a public–private partnership model for highway maintenance, and toll-collection. NHIDCL uses Engineering Procurement and Construction (EPC) model to build, develop and maintain strategic roads in international borders of the country.

In India, National Highways are at-grade roads, whereas Expressways are controlled-access highways where entrance and exit is controlled by the use ramps that are incorporated into the design of the expressway. National Highways follows standards set by Indian Roads Congress and Bureau of Indian Standards.

Characteristics

India has 161,350 km (100,260 mi) of national highways as of March 2022 compared to 1,01,011 km in FY 2013–14. In July 2023, Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said total length of the national highways in the country increased by about 59% in the last nine years.

National highways constituted 2.7% of India's total road network, but carried about 40% of road traffic, as of 2013. In 2016, the government vowed to double the highway length from 1,01,011 to 2,00,000 km.

The majority of existing highways are now four-lane roads (two lanes in each direction), though much of this is being expanded to six or more lanes. Some sections of the network are toll roads. Only a few highways are built with concrete. Bypasses have been constructed around larger towns and cities to provide uninterrupted passage for highway traffic. Some existing roads have been reclassified as national highways.

History

The National Highways Act, 1956 provided for public i.e. state investment in the building and maintenance of the highways.

The National Highways Authority of India was established by the National Highways Authority of India Act, 1988. Section 16(1) of the Act states that the function of NHAI is to develop, maintain, and manage the National Highways and any other highways vested in, or entrusted to, it by the Government of India.

In 1998 India launched a massive program of highway upgrades, called the National Highways Development Project (NHDP), in which the main north–south and east–west corridors and highways connecting the four metropolitan cities (Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata) have been fully paved and widened into four-lane highways. Some of the busier National Highway sectors in India were also converted to four- or six-lane limited-access highways.

National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited started functioning as of 18 July 2014. It is a fully owned company of Government of India under Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and was created to develop, maintain and manage the national highways, strategic roads and other infrastructure of India. It was dedicated to the task of promoting regional connectivity in parts of the country which share international boundaries. It is responsible for the development, maintenance and management of National Highways in hilly terrain of North-East part of India, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh and Uttarakhand. It works as a specialised agency in high altitude areas and border areas. Apart from highways, NHIDCL is constructing logictic hubs and transport related infrastructure e.g. multimodal transport hubs such as bus ports, container depots, automated multilevel car parking etc.

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways adopted a new systematic numbering of National Highways in April 2010. It is a systematic numbering scheme based on the orientation and the geographic location of the highway. The new system indicates the direction of National Highways whether they are east–west (odd numbers) or north–south (even numbers). It also indicates the geographical region where they are with even numbers increasing from east to west starting from NH2 and odd numbers increasing from north to south starting from NH1.

Bharatmala, a centrally-sponsored and funded road and highways project of the Government of India with a target of constructing 83,677 km (51,994 mi) of new highways, was started in 2018. Phase I of the Bharatmala project involves the construction of 34,800 km of highways (including the remaining projects under NHDP) at an estimated cost of ₹5.35 lakh crore (US$64 billion) by 2021–22.

Expanding National Highway Network

The average speed of NH construction has also seen a significant increase, from a baseline of 12.1 km/day in 2014 rising to 28.3 km/day (143%).

The speed of highway construction reached 37 km per day in 2020-21, a record for fastest highway construction in India.

National Highway of India in 2014, 91287km.

National Highway of India in 2023, 146145km.

Network length

Year wise national highways in India, by state and union territory

As at end-March and length in kms.

Source: Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Government of India.

State-wise length of National Highways

Note: Yearly data for 2018 and 2020 are not available.

Funding

National Highways Authority of India has enough funds to increase the pace of road building. At the listing ceremony of the National Highways Infra Trust's (NHAI InVITs) non-convertible debentures, the National Highway Infra Trust issued and listed Non-Convertible Debentures or NCDs worth Rs 1,500 crore on the Bombay Stock Exchange, with a long-dated maturity of 25 years.

NHAI collected tolls worth Rs 34,742 crore on national highways in FY22. Additionally NHAI toll revenue will to soar to Rs 1.40 lakh crores in next three years.

Future

Brownfield National Highway Projects is an upgrading/widening of existing four lane highways into six lane highways which are not controlled access highways.

Trivia

• The longest national highway is NH44, which runs between Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir and Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu, covering a distance of 3,806 km (2,365 mi).
• The shortest national highway is NH766EE, which spans 4.27 km (2.65 mi), from Hettikeri to Belekeri port in Karnataka.
• The Leh–Manali Highway connecting Leh in Ladakh to Manali in Himachal Pradesh is the world's second highest-altitude motorable highway.

See also

• List of National Highways in India by highway number
• List of National Highways in India by state
• List of National Highways in India by union territory
• India–Myanmar–Thailand Trilateral Highway
• Roads in India

References and notes

1. ^ "India's road network grows 59% in last 9 years: Gadkari". 27 June 2023.
2. NATIONALHighways construction touches record 37 km per day: Gadkari Archived 9 April 2021 at the Wayback Machine The Hindu. Retrieved 29 August 2021
3. "Construction of national highways at 10,331 km in 2022-23-MoRTH". 25 April 2023.
4. Mahapatra, Dhananjay (2 July 2013). "NDA regime constructed 50% of national highways laid in last 30 years: Centre". The Times of India. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
5. "National Highways road length to be increased from 1,01,011 km to 2,00,000 km: Nitin Gadkari". The Financial Express. 17 December 2016. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
6. "The National Highways Act, 1956". Archived from the original on 14 February 2012. Retrieved 2 December 2012.
7. "NHIDCL Ministry of RT&H".
8. "Rationalisation of Numbering Systems of National Highways" (PDF). New Delhi: Department of Road Transport and Highways. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 August 2016. Retrieved 2 September 2012.
9. "New numbers for national highways". The Times of India. 21 October 2011. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
10. "Bharat Mala: PM Narendra Modi's planned Rs 14,000 crore road from Gujarat to Mizoram", The Economic Times, New Delhi, 29 April 2015, archived from the original on 2 May 2015
11. "Ministry proposes construction of 20,000 km of roads under Bharat Mala project", The Economic Times, New Delhi, 9 January 2016, archived from the original on 25 March 2016
12. "Bharatmala Pariyojana - A Stepping Stone towards New India | National Portal of India". www.india.gov.in. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
13. "Ministry of Information & Broadcasting".
14. https://morth.nic.in/sites/default/files/Annual%20Report%20-%202021%20(English)_compressed.pdf Archived 16 November 2021 at the Wayback Machine
15. https://morth.nic.in/sites/default/files/Annual%20Report_21-22-1.pdf Archived 31 July 2022 at the Wayback Machine
16. "National Highways Summary - Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, Government of India". morth.nic.in. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
17. "Welcome to NHAI". www.nhai.org. Archived from the original on 15 February 2013. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
18. "Overview of All NHIDCL Projects" (PDF). nhidcl.com. 15 February 2017. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
19. http://nhai.gov.in/writereaddata/Portal/Images/pdf/AnnualReport201516.pdf Archived 10 December 2019 at the Wayback Machine
20. https://morth.nic.in/sites/default/files/Summary-of-NHs_1.pdf Archived 15 April 2021 at the Wayback Machine
21. Table 123: State-wise Length of National Highways 2005 - 2019 Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Government of India
22. "Reserve Bank of India - Publications".
23. "NHAI has enough cash to speed up road building: Gadkari at NCD listing event". 28 October 2022.
24. "Toll worth Rs34,742 crore collected on national highways in FY22".
25. Mishra, Twesh (6 September 2022). "NHAI toll revenue to soar to Rs 1.40 lakh crores in three years: Nitin Gadkari". The Economic Times.
26. "Brownfield National Highway Project | CEPT - Portfolio".
27. "New numbers for national highways Archived 20 May 2015 at the Wayback Machine". Maps of India.
28. "List of highways in Karnatakaa". nhai.gov.in.
29. "National Highway 536 Archived 25 September 2021 at the Wayback Machine". India9.com.

External links

• Story of a village by the highways

v t e Highways in India
Expressways	Agra–Lucknow Ahmedabad–Vadodara Ambala–Chandigarh Bangalore Elevated Belghoria Chennai Bypass Chennai ORR Delhi–Faridabad Delhi–Gurgaon Delhi–Meerut Delhi–Noida Delhi Eastern Peripheral Delhi Western Peripheral Noida–Greater Noida Himalayan Hyderabad Elevated Hyderabad ORR Jaipur–Kishangarh Mumbai–Pune Mumbai–Nashik Mumbai Eastern Mumbai Western Panipat Elevated Purvanchal Raipur–Bhilai–Durg Trans-Haryana Expressway Vijayawada–Hyderabad Yamuna
National highways (list)	1 301 501 701 701A 2 102 102A 102B 102C 202 302 502 502A 702 702A 702B 702C 702D 3 103 303 503 503A 703 703A 703B 4 5 105 105B 205 205A 305 505 505A 705 6 106 206 306 306A 7 107 107A 307 507 707 707A 907 907A 907G 8 108 108A 108B 208 208A 9 109 109K 309 309A 309B 509 709 709A 709AD 709B 10 110 310 310A 510 710 11 311 911 911A 12 112 312 512 13 113 313 513 713 713A 14 114 114A 314 15 115 215 315 315A 415 515 715 715A 16 116 116A 116B 216 216A 316 316A 516 516A 516C 516D 516E 716 716A 716B 17 117 117A 217 317 317A 517 717 717A 717B 18 118 218 19 119 219 319 319D 419 519 719 919 20 120 220 320 320D 320G 520 720 21 321 321G 921 22 122 122A 122B 322 522 722 922 23 123 24 124C 124D 25 125 325 925 925A 26 126 126A 326 326A 27 127 127A 127B 127C 127D 127E 227 227A 227F 227J 227L 327 327A 327AD 327B 327C 427 527 527A 527B 527C 527D 527E 627 727 727A 727AA 727B 727BB 727G 727H 927 927A 927D 28 128 128A 128B 128C 328 328A 29 129 129A 229 329 329A 30 130 130A 130B 130C 130CD 130D 230 330 330A 330B 330D 530 530B 730 730A 730B 730C 730H 730S 930 930D 31 131 131A 231 331 431 531 731 731A 731AG 731K 931 931A 32 132 132B 332 332A 532 33 133 133A 133B 333 333A 333B 333C 34 134 234 334 334A 334B 334C 334D 334DD 534 734 934 35 135 135A 135B 135BB 135BD 135BG 135C 335 36 136 136B 336 536 37 137 137A 38 138 338 39 139 339 339B 539 40 140 340 340C 41 141 341 42 43 143 143A 143AG 143B 143D 143H 343 543 943 44 144 144A 244 244A 344 344A 344B 344M 444 444A 544 544D 544DD 544E 544H 744 744A 844 944 45 46 146 146B 346 47 147 147A 147D 147E 247 347 347A 347B 347BG 347C 547 547E 647 947 48 148 148AE 148B 148BB 148C 148D 148M 148N 148NA 248 248A 248BB 348 348A 348B 348BB 448 548 548A 548B 548C 548CC 548D 548DD 548E 548H 648 748 748AA 848 848A 848B 948 948A 49 149 149B 50 150 150A 150E 51 151 151A 251 351 351F 751 751D 751DD 52 152 152A 152D 352 352A 352R 352W 552 552G 652 752 752B 752C 752E 752G 752H 752I 752K 53 153 153B 353 353B 353C 353D 353E 353I 353J 353K 753 753A 753AB 753B 753BB 753C 753E 753F 753H 753J 753L 753M 953 54 154 154A 254 354 354B 354E 754 754K 954 55 655 56 156 756 57 157 157A 58 158 458 758 59 60 160 160A 160B 160C 160D 160H 360 61 161 161A 161AA 161B 161BB 161E 161G 161H 361 361B 361C 361F 361H 461B 561 561A 761 62 162 162A 63 163 163A 363 563 64 65 165 365 365A 365B 365BB 465 565 765 765D 965 965C 965D 965DD 965G 66 166 166A 166D 166E 166F 166G 166H 266 366 566 766 766C 766E 766EE 966 966A 966B 67 167 167A 167B 167BG 367 367A 68 168 168A 968 69 169 169A 369 369E 70 71 73 173 373 75 275 275K 77 79 179A 179B 179D 81 181 381 381A 381B 83 183 183A 383 85 185 785 87
State highways	Andhra Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh Assam Bihar Chhattisgarh Goa Gujarat Haryana Himachal Pradesh Jammu and Kashmir Jharkhand Karnataka Kerala Madhya Pradesh Maharashtra Manipur Meghalaya Mizoram Nagaland Odisha Puducherry Punjab Rajasthan Sikkim Tamil Nadu Telangana Tripura Uttarakhand Uttar Pradesh West Bengal
Notable	Arunachal Frontier Highway Golden Quadrilateral Grand Trunk Road North–South and East–West Corridor

• National highways of India
• Roads in India