Get complete information on Indian Roads

India has the largest road network in the world. Road transport is much more popular as it is easier to maintain and build.

Advantages of Roads

1. It provides door to door services.

2. It is more economical in the transportation of less number of people and smaller amount of goods over short distances.

3. Roads can negotiate steeper slopes and sharp] turns.

4. Vehicles on roads can stop anywhere and anytime.

5. Road transport is also used as a feeder to other] modes of transport.

6. It also provides door to door service and thus the| cost of loading and unloading is much lower.

7. Roads are comparitively easy and cheap to| construct and maintain.

8. Perishable goods like vegetables, fruits and milk are transported more easily and quickly by roads than by railways.

Disadvantages of Roads

1. Roads are not suitable and uncomfortable in long| distance travel.

2. It is more expensive than rail transport.

3. Increase in vehicles has led to more road accidents and air-pollution.

4. Heavy commodities like coal, iron are difficult to transport by road.

In India roads are classified into six, depending on their importance, maintenance and administration:

1. National Highways

2. State Highways

3. District Roadways

4. Village / Rural Roads

5. Border Roads

6. Golden Quadrilateral Super Highway

1. National Highway:

National Highways connect the state capitals, big cities and important ports and were constructed and maintained by the Central Public Works Department (CPWD). The important National Highways are:

(а) N.H. 1: also called the Sher Shah Suri Marg between Delhi and Amritsar.

(b) N.H. 2: connects Delhi to Kolkata

(c) N.H. 3 : connects Agra to Mumbai

(d) N.H. 7: connects Varanasi and Kanniya kumari

(e) N.H. 8: connects Delhi to Mumbai

(f) N.H. 15: covers Rajasthan

2. State Highways:

These roads link the state capitals with district headquarters and other important towns. They are constructed and maintained by The State Public Works Department. These are also connected to the National Highways.

3. District Roads:

These connect the district headquarters with other towns of the district. They are maintained by the Zila Parishad.

4. Village Roads:

These are generally unmetalled and dusty and connect the village with the towns and cities nearby.

5. Border Roads:

The Border Roads Organization was established in 1960 to develop the roads in the northern and north-eastern border areas. These roads have helped in the economic development of those areas which were difficult to access due to difficult terrain.

6. Golden Quadrilateral Super Highway:

This was launched on January 2nd, 1999 and is one of the largest programmes of road development taken up in the country. The highway projects are being implemented by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI). It links the four cities of Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai and Mumbai by six lane super Highways.

	Name	Length in kms.
1.	North-South corridor	4000 kms
	(Connecting Srinagar with
	Kanniyakumari)
2.	East-West Corridor	3,300 kms
	(Connecting Silchar with
	Porbandar)

	Delhi – Mumbai	1417 kms
2.	Mumbai – Chennai	1290 kms
3.	Chennai – Kolkata	1684 kms
4.	Kolkata – Delhi	1453 kms

With the construction of these super highways the time and distance between the mega cities of India will be considerably reduced and will generate employment.

Express Highways

With the increase in traffic there has been a need to improve the highways so that the traffic moves at a faster rate. So Express Highways have been built which are much wider with multi lanes. Some of them are

(i) Eastern Express Highway in Mumbai

(ii) Highway between Kolkata and Dum Dum Airport