The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is shaking things up with its plans for upcoming highways. Instead of sticking to the usual blueprint, they’re thinking outside the box by incorporating features like helipads and drone zones. Their aim, as reported by The Economic Times, is to redefine the travel experience for road users across the country.
Moreover, NHAI is also tackling the age-old problem of potholes head-on. They’re exploring the use of self-healing asphalt, a cutting-edge technology that could revolutionize road maintenance and significantly improve safety standards nationwide.
NHAI’s Plans for Highway Development in India
NHAI, the authority in charge of highways in India, has big plans for the upcoming expressways. They want to make traveling more convenient by adding special amenities along the routes. These amenities will include helipads, areas for drones to land, and shops selling local goods like handicrafts and fresh produce. Over the next five years, NHAI aims to build a whopping 1,000 of these amenities along national highways. That’s about one every 50 kilometers! This is a big increase from their original plan of 600 facilities, which were supposed to be developed with the help of private companies.
Under the new plan, NHAI will work with private companies to develop 800 out of the 1,000 amenities. NHAI will provide the land and approvals, and oversee the project, while the private companies will handle the development, operation, and maintenance for 15-30 years.
NHAI has also come up with a neat way to classify these facilities. The bigger ones, covering five acres or more, will be called “highway villages,” while the smaller ones will be called “highway nests.” This shows that NHAI is thinking carefully about how to use space efficiently and make sure everything runs smoothly along the highways.
Integrating Amenities for Better Travel
Traditionally, oil companies have managed fuel stations along highways. But now, as NHAI focuses on adding more amenities to expressways, they want to include these facilities as part of the highway projects. This means when they plan and build highways, they’ll also plan for places where travelers can stop for various services.
Experts say that for this plan to work well, the government needs to ensure enough facilities to attract private companies to invest in them. Jagannarayan Padmanabhan, a senior director at Crisil Market Intelligence and Analytics, thinks the government should structure these projects in a way that makes them appealing for private investment. This means making sure the projects are big enough and reducing risks for private companies.
Innovative Asphalt Technology and Road Maintenance Budget
The report talks about a cool technology called self-healing asphalt. It works by adding steel wool pieces to the asphalt, which is the stuff that holds roads together. These steel pieces make the asphalt conductive, so it can be heated up using special machines. When heated, the asphalt can fix itself by filling in cracks and preventing potholes.
The government has set aside Rs 2,600 crore in the 2024-25 budget for road maintenance to keep our roads in good shape.
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