Expressway Authority: After connecting every corner of the country with highways, the central government is paying much attention to the expressway. The government plans to build about 50 thousand km of access control expressways in the country. These will be built so that there should be some expressway within a radius of 100 to 150 km from every place in the country. The need for another authority, along with the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI), is being felt to speed up this work. This authority will only control the expressway.
The Need For Another Authority Is Being Felt Apart From NHAI
Business Today, quoting government sources has said in a report that for the rapid development of expressways, the need for another authority is being felt apart from NHAI. The Road Transport and Highways Ministry has also included forming this authority in its 100-day agenda. The new authority (Expressway Authority) will focus only on building expressways and their management in the country. This will also reduce the burden of NHAI.
National Highways and Expressways Are To Be Built According To The Needs Of 2047
According to sources, the government wants NHAI to focus only on constructing national highways. The Expressway Authority will manage the toll along with the construction. This will also strengthen the expressway infrastructure.
The government is emphasizing the construction of national highways and expressways in the country according to the needs of 2047. A master plan has also been prepared for this. Under this, about 50 thousand km of expressways are to be built in the country. At present, there are 2913 km of expressways in the country. The government hopes that with the help of expressways and new highways, the logistics cost can be reduced by 3 to 4 percent.
The Number Of 2-lane Highways Has Also Decreased, 4 Lanes Are Increasing Rapidly.
Along with building Greenfield Expressways, the government is also working on developing old highways. The number of 2-lane highways in the country decreased from 30 percent in 2014 to only 10 percent in 2023. The government wants to convert 2-lane highways into 4-lane highways as soon as possible. Their total length has also decreased from 27,517 km to 14,850 km. The number of 4-lane and wider highways in the country has also reached 46,179 km.
