Page 3 - Highways

Will India now replace steel crash barriers on highways with bamboo?

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways Is keen on the technology's adoption and has already run pilots

Sikkim flood: Part of NH-10 highway restored for 4-wheeler movement

Over two weeks after parts of Sikkim were devastated by a flash flood, the authorities have opened the damaged National Highway 10 for one-way movement for four-wheelers, according to a government notification on Saturday. People now can use NH-10, considered the lifeline for the state, to drive between Sikkim's capital Gangtok and Siliguri in West Bengal for 12 hours from 6 am. The transport department notification also provided two routes for heavy vehicles to move between these two places, avoiding the NH-10. The government has taken several measures so that prices of essential commodities such as food items and medicines do not escalate, as the suggested routes are longer than the ones used to be taken earlier, the notification said. The flash flood in the Teesta river that hit the Himalayan state in the wee hours of October 4 left at least 78 people dead in Sikkim and northern West Bengal. In its 7 pm bulletin on Saturday, the Sikkim State Disaster Management Authority (SSDMA

NHAI issues SOPs to protect commuters, toll operators; reduce altercations

National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) on Monday said it has issued Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to safeguard commuters and toll operators, reduce incidents of altercations and strengthen security at toll plazas. According to an official statement, the detailed SOPs include guidelines for NHAI field offices to ensure strict implementation and adherence by toll-collecting agencies to manage staff and road users. According to the SOPs, NHAI field offices will ensure that the toll collecting agency performs their duties following guidelines. The toll collecting agency will ensure that staff at toll plazas wear the prescribed NHAI uniform with a name badge, the statement said, adding that any anticipated incident of violence should only be handled by toll plaza manager/lane supervisors, who will wear body cameras to record such instances. In case of unruly behaviour by a commuter, the lane supervisor shall intervene and try to resolve the issue amicably, the statement ...

Govt aims to monetise $24 billion worth of highways by 2027: CareEdge

With 4,000 kilometers to 4,500 kilometers (2,796.2 miles) of new roads likely to be commissioned annually by the National Highways Authority of India over the next three years

Bengaluru-Chennai express highway to start by Jan 2024, says Nitin Gadkari

Earlier, in July, Nitin Gadkari said that the central government has set a provisional target for the construction of about 13,800 kilometre National Highways (NHs) in 2023-24

Bengaluru-Chennai express highway to be operational by year-end: Gadkari

The Bengaluru-Chennai express highway will be launched by this year-end or January 2024 and it will prove crucial in reducing the travel time between the two metros to just two hours, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari said on Thursday. Also, with the massive infrastructure being built across the country, Chennai will soon be connected with Delhi through the access-controlled highway project, he said. I reviewed the progress of National Highways projects in Chennai today. The Bengaluru-Chennai express highway will start by this year-end or January 2024. So, you can launch luxury buses and sleeper coaches in this sector, the minister said, addressing the 75th anniversary celebrations of Ashok Leyland here. Gadkari, who earlier launched the Ashok Leyland's IeV series, India's first electric commercial vehicles in its category, said there's a great requirement for electric buses in the country. We are making good roads. We are connecting Delhi to Chennai via .

Maha minister orders special audit of work done on Mumbai-Goa Highway

Maharashtra Minister Ravindra Chavan on Sunday said he has ordered a special audit of the work done on the Mumbai-Goa Highway in the last 12 years and reason for the delay in the project. The PWD minister's announcement has come a day after he got stuck in traffic for more than two hours on the highway while inspecting the ongoing repair work on the route. The Navi Mumbai traffic police has banned the movement of heavy vehicles on Mumbai-Goa highway from Sunday till the end of the Ganesh festival to be held next month. Talking to reporters after an event in Dombivili town, Chavan said Rs 4,500 crore have been disbursed for the project, but under some pretext the work has been delayed. A special audit will be conducted on the work done on the project over the last 12 years, he said. The work on the highway will be completed by end of this year, Chavan said, adding that a lane of the highway will be opened for people from Konkan who are travelling for the upcoming Ganesh ...

Portion of U'khand highway caves in following landslide, traffic diverted

According to officials, a stretch of around 60 meters has caved in and the area is close to an airstrip said to be strategically important

US: Bus filled with teen campers crashes on winding highway, injuring 11

A school bus carrying teenage campers rolled over on a winding Idaho highway on Friday afternoon, injuring 11 people, the Idaho State Police said. Seven of those hurt had critical injuries and four had non-critical injuries, according to an ISP news release. The Boise County Coroner's office had not received any reports of fatalities as of 5:45 pm, coroner's investigator Noah Webster said. The bus was carrying about 30 campers and staff back to Boise from the Treasure Valley YMCA's camp at Horsethief Reservoir. All of the teens on the bus were between 13 and 18 years old, according to ISP. They were all taken to area hospitals to be checked out, the ISP said. The Valley County Sheriff's Office said they were notified of the crash about 3 pm, and several law enforcement and emergency medical agencies responded. Treasure Valley YMCA Director David Duro was not immediately able to comment on the crash. "We are in the middle of managing parents and children, so I do not have an update

ADB, India sign $295 mn loan pact to upgrade state highways in Bihar

Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the central government on Thursday signed an agreement for a USD 295 million loan to upgrade around 265-kilometre state highways with climate and disaster-resilient design and road safety elements in Bihar. The project supports the Bihar government programme to upgrade all state highways to standard two-lane widths and improve road safety, ADB said in a statement. The improved roads will enhance connectivity in some of Bihar's poorest rural districts and promote access to health and education facilities and markets to improve people's lives, it added. The project will also encourage women's participation by providing employment to female workers in construction works, it said, adding training in livelihood as well as awareness on road safety, health, hygiene, abuse and harassment will be offered to women from communities in the project areas. Since 2008, ADB has provided five loans totalling USD 1.63 billion to Bihar for the upgradation of about ...

Rains in HP: Flash floods damage houses, Shimla-Kinnaur highway blocked

Flash floods damaged houses and inundated agricultural land in Himachal Pradesh's Kamru Panchayat on Thursday while the Shimla-Kinnaur highway was blocked due to a swollen Broni stream between Rampur and Jhakri, officials said. Since the onset of monsoon in the hill state, 130 people have died in rain-related incidents such as landslides and flash floods, and road accidents, according to the Himachal Pradesh State Emergency Response Centre. The state has suffered a loss of Rs 4,809 crore. On the situation in Kamru Panchayat in the Sangla Valley, Kinnaur Deputy Commissioner (DC) Tarul S Raveesh said flash floods increased the water flow in a stream. Horticulture as well as agriculture land have been inundated and the loss is being assessed, the official said. Reports of damage to houses and vehicles are also pouring in, the DC said and added that no casualty has been reported yet. Shimla DC Aditya Negi said following a cloudburst, water level in the Broni Nallah increased and inunda

Jammu-Srinagar highway closed for second day, restoration work on

Traffic movement on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway remained suspended for the second day on Sunday as authorities stepped up efforts to restore the road amid improved weather conditions, officials said. The 270-km highway, the only all weather road linking Kashmir with rest of the country, was closed for traffic on Saturday following heavy rains overnight that triggered multiple landslides and also washed away a portion of nearly 40-metre road stretch near Panthiyal tunnel in Ramban district. The closure of the highway left over 3,500 vehicles, including those carrying Amarnath pilgrims from Jammu to Kashmir, stranded at different places. After hectic efforts, the highway was partially opened for stranded vehicles with concerned agencies bypassing the damaged road stretch by connecting an old road alignment and clearing the debris, the officials said. However, they said sinking of road at Chamba near Seeri and fresh landslides at Mehar and Cafeteria Morh forced the authorities

Army patrols along J-K highway to ensure safety of Amarnath pilgrims

The Army is conducting area domination patrols daily along the Jammu-Srinagar national highway with drones, surveillance equipment and sniffer dogs to ensure a secure passage for Amarnath pilgrims, officials said on Saturday. The drills on the highway are an integral part of the multi-security grid responsible for facilitating a smooth and incident-free pilgrimage spanning 62 days from July 1, they said. "The Army undertakes intense area domination patrolling along the entire route of the yatra, from Jammu to Banihal and beyond, providing security to pilgrims," a senior security official told PTI. This proactive approach establishes a protective layer to deter terrorists from approaching the national highway and targeting convoys of pilgrims, he said. Equipped with state-of-the-art gadgets such as drones, metal detectors and surveillance equipment, and sniffer dogs, the soldiers meticulously sanitise the highway and certain hinterland areas as part of their security duties, the ...

CM Baghel reviews preparations for PM Modi's upcoming visit to Raipur

Chhattisgarh Police said that elaborate security arrangements have been made for the daylong visit of PM Modi scheduled on July 7

Gadkari says 70% work of India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway complete

Around 70 per cent construction work on the ambitious India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway has been completed, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari has said. India, Thailand and Myanmar are working on about 1,400-km-long highway that would link the country with Southeast Asia by land and give a boost to trade, business, health, education and tourism ties among the three countries. "Around 70 per cent work of the project is completed," the minister of Road Transport & Highways told PTI in reply to a question on the progress of the project. The highway will connect Moreh in Manipur, India with Mae Sot in Thailand via Myanmar. The minister did not provide details on the timeline for completion and operationalisation of the trilateral highway. The strategic highway project has been delayed. Earlier, the government was aiming to make the highway operational by December 2019.

Haryana farmers hold 'mahapanchayat' along Delhi-Chandigarh highway

Traffic on the Delhi-Chandigarh National Highway was disrupted on Monday as farmers gathered there after holding a mahapanchayat in this district to press for minimum support price for sunflower seed. Apart from leaders of various khaps and Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait, Olympic medal-winning wrestler Bajrang Punia, one of the grapplers who have been demanding action against outgoing Wrestling Federation of India chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, were present at the mahapanchayat. The "MSP Dilao, Kisan Bachao mahapanchayat", called by Bharatiya Kisan Union (Charuni), was being held at a grain market in Pipli close to National Highway-44 which was blocked by farmers a few days ago demanding that the government procure sunflower seed at MSP. After the mahapanchayat the farmers started marching towards the highway. Farmers led by Bharatiya Kisan Union (Charuni) chief Gurnam Singh Charuni had June 6 blocked the national highway near Shahabad for over six hours demanding tha

In talks with industry for development of electric highways: Gadkari

Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday said he is in discussion with industry players on development of economically viable electric highways. The minister for road transport and highways highlighted the need to develop "import substitute cost-effective, pollution-free and indigenous technology", asserting that sustainable development is the ultimate goal. "The way our cities are developing, ultimately we (will) need to reform our urban laws. At the same time these cities and this traffic congestion and pollution is becoming a big challenge for the society. A city like Bengaluru, it is difficult for people to go to their office, it takes two hours," Gadkari said at a CII event here. He emphasised that big corporates need to come forward and build sustainable business models. "Yesterday I had a discussion with Tata and other people, that how we can make economically viable electric highway," Gadkari said. The minister stated that there is a need to convince people that making ..

Govt to set up helipads, drone landing facilities on highways: Gadkari

NHAI is developing world-class Wayside Amenities at more than 600 locations along the National Highways, said the the Minister for Road Transport and Highways in a statement

Shiv Sena (UBT) demands highway toll exemption for Amarnath pilgrims

The Jammu and Kashmir unit of the Shiv Sena (UBT) on Friday demanded free registration and highway toll exemption for Amarnath pilgrims. The registration for the annual Amarnath pilgrimage began on April 17. The 62-day pilgrimage to the 3,880-metre-high cave shrine in south Kashmir is scheduled to start on July 1. Manish Sahni, the president of the Jammu and Kashmir unit of the Shiv Sena (UBT), said it was unfortunate that there was no positive response to their demands even after repeated representations to Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Chief Secretary Arun Kumar Mehta. "If there is no positive response to our demands for free registration for pilgrims and toll exemption for their vehicles within a week, a nationwide agitation will be launched," he told reporters here.

IRB Infrastructure bags 158 km-project in Hyderabad for Rs 7,380 cr

IRB Infrastructure Developers on Thursday said it has bagged 158 kilometre-long Hyderabad outer ring road project under the toll-operate-transfer model for Rs 7,380 crore. The Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) had invited global competitive bids for the project, in which IRB had participated and emerged as the selected bidder. "After signing the concession agreement, the project SPV will be making the payment of Rs 7,380 crore within a span of 120 days," IRB Infrastructure Developers Ltd said in a statement. IRB Infrastructure Developers chairman and managing director Virendra D Mhaiskar said this project will take the company's asset base to over Rs 70,000 crore and share in toll-operate-transfer (TOT) space to 37 per cent, the largest by any private player in India. The Hyderabad outer ring road (ORR) is a 158 kilometers, 8 lanes ring road expressway, encircling Hyderabad, Telangana. Opened up in December 2012, the large part of around 124 km of ORR covers urba