India has an extensive system of roadways that plays a vital role, as far as the national economic growth of the country is concerned. Important industries like agriculture, forestry, mining and energy are either directly or indirectly dependent on the road network of the country. At present, India boasts of one of the largest road systems in the world (3.3 million km). This has led to a noticeable shift in the transport sector, with Indian road network assuming major control over the movement of goods and passengers.
Compared to the India Railways, which cater to only 40% of the freight and 20% of the passengers load; roadways aid in the movement of 65% freight or cargo travel and 80% passenger traffic. Road network in the country mainly comprises of unpaved rural roads, important district roads, state highways, flyovers, national highways and expressways. These widespread networks of Indian roads not only help in bridging the gap of topographical variations in the country, but also generate revenues that facilitate economic development.
Most of the highways in India comprises of 2 lanes. However, in certain areas, they have been broadened to 4 lanes. In case of big cities, highways can sometimes expand to even 8 lanes. One of the most important landmarks of Indian roadways are the construction of various National Highways that are the primary long-distance roadways and link the major ports, state capitals and important industrial centers of the country. At present, there are 259 national highways in India, stretching over a total area of 52, 000 km.
Irrespective of the fact that National Highways form only 2% of the total roadways in India; their contribution in the fields of industrial and infrastructural developments remains dominant. Another major introduction in the field of land transportation is the designing of various expressways. These expressways are cemented six-lane highways, designed to provide smooth high-speed movement without any on-road obstacles like traffic or speed breakers. Ahmedabad-Vadodara Expressway is India’s first expressway, which has led to many other construction projects in the pipeline.
A recently opened expressway is the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway that forms a part of Golden Quadrilateral highway project. Though India has a very widespread road infrastructure expanding even to the remotest corners of the country, most regions of rural India still lack cobbled streets and remain connected to nearby cities by means of unpaved and muddy roads. This hinders development of these regions and impedes proper exploitation of human resources in the country. Development projects of roadways in these villages and isolated areas will no doubt help in bolstering the Indian economy.
