do they have a break-up of cars, 2 wheelers and other vehicles? would be more interesting and better for finding real city traffic densities. one bike is not the same as one truck on a city road

MMRDA’s caught in a labyrinth LIFE’S LIKE

Mumbai Is Chock-a-Block With Road Projects But Most Of Them Are Behind Schedule

Gurbir Singh and Rajesh Unnikrishnan
MUMBAI 4 SEPTEMBER


MUMBAI is not exactly Nagpur or Thane, runs the adage among Maharashtra government officials when referring to the backlog and delays in completing major road works in the traffic-choked, pot-holed financial capital. For the record, they are cocking a snook at fellow civil servant, T Chandrashekhar, who as joint metropolitan commissioner & project director in charge of transport systems, seems to be making slow headway in Mumbai after success stories in smaller cities.
To redefine road traffic and ease the unending jams, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has drawn up plans to build 462 km of new roads, 41 flyovers, 10 elevated roads, 16 railway overbridges and several traffic islands for the metropolis, at an estimated cost of Rs 2,647 crore. The plans are crucial considering Mumbai is projected to become the most densely populated city in the world after Tokyo by ’15.
An MMRDA official claimed that 155 km of roads, or around one-third of the target, had so far been completed. Most of these projects are way behind schedule, mainly due to the delay in land acquisition. The rehabilitation of slums and other structures particularly as part of the Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP) has also contributed to the delay.
According to MMRDA metropolitan commissioner Suresh Joshi, the two important eastwest corridors under the MUTP — the Jogeshwari-Vikhroli link road and the Santa Cruz-Chembur link — are 6 and 18 months behind schedule. However, the expansion of the western and eastern expressways has made satisfactory progress with 60% completion.
MMRDA’s chief transport commissioner PRK Murthy told ET that rehabilitation and diversion of utilities are the major issues delaying the MUIP and MUTP projects. “In the Jogeshwari-Vikroli link project, diverting the existing water and power supply lines have created much delay. This required permissions from different authorities. Opposition from local public has also delayed these projects,” he said.
“In the case of Nagpur and Thane, land acquisition was not too difficult since Mr Chandrashekhar was the sole authority directing and monitoring the road building and expansion projects. In Mumbai, multiple pulls and pushes, and an overbearing attitude has made progress tardy,” a senior MMRDA planner pointed out.
Mr Chandrashekhar did not return calls, nor did he reply to a questionnaire. It is the more difficult east-west corridor that continues to tie MMRDA up in knots. For instance, the Andheri-Ghatkopar link is just 35% down the road, and the Goregaon-Mulund link running through Film City is just 20% complete. Similarly, the construction of approach roads to the airport in the Marol and MIDC areas is less than 25% complete.
Significantly, much of the time over-runs are on account of parallel government departments holding up the land acquisition process. For instance, the crucial Santa Cruz-Chembur corridor is seeing a major hold-up as the Kurla Dairy is resisting giving right of way.
Internally, the MMRDA is giving a lot of importance to the construction of the 22-km ‘Eastern Freeway’ that will make exiting the city towards the eastern suburbs and Thane via the Eastern Express Highway easy and quick. The Freeway starts near Mallet Bunder, on P D’Mello Road in the docks area, runs at an elevated level over much of the eastern coast of the island city on Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT) land, and ends at Sion near the Adlabs multiplex where it joins the Eastern Express Highway.
While MMRDA managed to acquire a 5-km stretch in the Anik-Panjarpole link after much wrankling, the port trust insists that MMRDA take the elevated route over its property.
MMRDA points out that elevated sections are far more expensive. Anyway, the dispute has not allowed the freeway project to progress.
Under the MUIP, a total of 41 flyovers (10 in the eastern suburbs, 17 in the west, and 14 in the island city) and 10 elevated roads have been planned. To be executed by Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC), these projects have not yet started.
Menawhile, MMRDA officers allege that Mr Chandrashekar is not doing enough to complete the more important MUTP projects, that have a cost-recovery mechanism through taxation. Instead, he was focusing on the MUIP projects that were mere ‘expenditure’ heads.
A senior MMRDA official said the World Bank ‘interference’ was also causing delay. “Their officials order contractors to stop work at random, and the Grievances Redressal Committee has become a roadblock. The delay on these counts is nearly 6 months to a year,” he said.
On the other hand, MMRDA statistics show the rehabilitation of slums and other evicted persons under the MUTP programme has been positive with 11,455 of the 22,829 slum units shifted to alternative accommodations till March, this year.

Traffic’s bumper to bumper

Girish Kuber MUMBAI 4 SEPTEMBER

MUMBAI is becoming increasingly difficult to govern. Even as the state and other agencies try to keep Mumbai on track, the enormity of the problems makes the task Sisyphean in nature. Consider this. Every day around 11.9 lakh vehicles criss-cross 1,225 traffic junctions on a road length of about 1,900 km with just 0.70 traffic policeman per junction.
Traffic snarls on the city’s clogged roads have been assuming alarming proportions of late. ET takes you through the numbers that depict Mumbai’s predicament on roads.
The total strength of Mumbai traffic police is 2,339 and the total number of junctions are 1,225. At any given time the actual number of personnel available, due to shifts, weekly offs and leave for policing on roads, is only 862.
This means, considering the total road length of 1,900 km, the city has 0.45 traffic policeman per km road length and 0.70 traffic policeman per junction. This also means every policeman on duty will be responsible for the movement of 1,391 vehicles.
All this in a city, home to around 1.3 crore, where more than of two-thirds of its population — around 1.1 crore — travel from one end to the other each day to earn their living.
Every day, Mumbai’s ubiquitous local trains carry around 65 lakh passengers whereas the BEST transports 45 lakh commuters every day. Besides these a large number of people hit the road in various vehicles.
On a typical working day, the city roads cart around 11.9 lakh vehicles. Of these the biggest chunk, 5.8 lakh is of two wheelers followed by cars, 3.6 lakh. Add to these a large number of public vehicles: 1 lakh auto rickshaws and 57,000 taxies and over 5,000 plus private buses or contract carriages. The real menace, the traffic department feels, is of goods vehicles. Over 77,000 goods vehicles such as trucks, trailers, station wagon etc travel on city roads everyday.
The city is far from being equipped to manage such a large mass of vehicles. “We neither have manpower nor machinery to keep the system moving,” a senior police official admitted. The police wants the city planners to have twoprong strategy in improving city traffic. One, more cops in traffic department and the use of advance technology such as CCTV in monitoring the vehicular movement.

why do we search for all these 'sexy' solutions to road problems? we could improve traffic efficiencies by more than 100% without widening any of the roads. remove encroachments, improve footpaths, fine jaywalking, stop cruising and illegal parking by taxis and other vehicles, enforce lane discipline. if these things are not done we will always have road traffic problems. and yes improve public transport and make it comfortable enough so that a person using a car would also think of using it, not just people who have no other option

why do we search for all these 'sexy' solutions to road problems? we could improve traffic efficiencies by more than 100% without widening any of the roads. remove encroachments, improve footpaths, fine jaywalking, stop cruising and illegal parking by taxis and other vehicles, enforce lane discipline. if these things are not done we will always have road traffic problems. and yes improve public transport and make it comfortable enough so that a person using a car would also think of using it, not just people who have no other option
I want all that too! :)

Its great speaking ideally but think about it and its tougher than ever to achieve. We need to clean up our government system, decentralize population, eradicate poverty....million small problems lead to BIG issues.

The problem is not with the plans i.e constructing flyovers etc.

my point is that instead of expensive, time-consuming projects everywhere we could improve traffic by just a few cheap, easy and long-term more beneficial solutions just by enforcing some discipline. these are easier solutions compared to massive projects

also just thinking about it today while driving on the weh in the morning when it was quite empty and got to appreciate its breadth. which is the widest road in india? somewhere north? or is it the weh and the eeh?

my point is that instead of expensive, time-consuming projects everywhere we could improve traffic by just a few cheap, easy and long-term more beneficial solutions just by enforcing some discipline. these are easier solutions compared to massive projects
enforcing rules cant eliminate red lights, the biggest problem with the roads. too many cars and traffic patterns just render some routes too congested, they have to be made high speed and with huge capacity.

Lets hope the Mumbai metro and upgraded BEST service are good enough to stop people from driving to work.

both have to go hand-in-hand. wide roads which end up being used to half-capacity or worse are not going to solve our problems. traffic management is hugely important, and certainly the reason for most case of road rage. esp with me ;)

Yeah I ride my bike like a maniac too. So dont you think enforcing rules without fixing the red lights etc. might really make it worse? ;)

I just cut through any gap I get, on saturday near churchgate I rode it down an empty footpah and saved atleast an hour.

the main goal must be to discourage people to take the car to the job. One way is to de-regularize the gas prices so it floats freely on the market,right now the gas prices are subsidized by the Gov. On top of the gas price there should be a green tax.

The green tax money goes to buy buses and other expenses.It is pretty much the same model that the european countries are doing.That will slow the car rush on the road for a while.

problem is,The party who ends the subsidize on petrol and diesel will loose in the next election.

Consumers likes cheap petrol, and so does the car industry.

But petrol prices cant shoot through the roof without good alternative transport.

Right now drivers will pay even rs. 52/ litre (prices went up 3 bucks yesterday) rather than take a bus or train. A lot of people carpool, but thats a limited effect. The bmc keeps talking about several other ideas from europe, like the numberplate system etc. doesn't happen.

Yeah I ride my bike like a maniac too. So dont you think enforcing rules without fixing the red lights etc. might really make it worse? ;)

I just cut through any gap I get, on saturday near churchgate I rode it down an empty footpah and saved atleast an hour.

dont you think that is the problem? if people followed traffic rules and didnt drive like maniacs traffic would be orderly and keep moving. if everyone changes lanes, cuts off the car next to them, starts a new lane, blocks another lane, it reduces overall efficiency. i am not saying dont develop flyovers, but if they ignore this vital part traffic will always be chaotic and never improve

dont you think that is the problem? if people followed traffic rules and didnt drive like maniacs traffic would be orderly and keep moving. if everyone changes lanes, cuts off the car next to them, starts a new lane, blocks another lane, it reduces overall efficiency. i am not saying dont develop flyovers, but if they ignore this vital part traffic will always be chaotic and never improve
There's a capacity limit, the red lights in certain roads have to go, theres too much pressure now. Its similar to what happenes with roundabouts replaced by red lights, level crossings replaced by over bridges.....

Mumbai really needs a lot of new roads, more lanes and flyovers. Once they are built rules become important.

As per the current status of completion of NH2 on NHAI website
(http://www.nhai.org/completednh2.htm), the Panagarh-Palsit and Palsit-
Dankuni stretches have been marked as completed. The status is as of
30th June 2005.

This would mean the entire stretch of NH2 (Delhi - Kolkata) in WB has
been completed, including Durgapur expressway (Palsit - Dankuni)
stretch, which is supposed to have a design speed of 100kmph !

Can anyone who might have travelled on the stretch recently verify the
correctness ?

Meanwhile, a picture from www.anandabazar.com shows the interchange between Jessore Rd and the upcoming Belghoria expressway near Kolkata airport nearing completion. Belghoria expressway is supposed to connect Kolkata airport directly to the GQ.

http://img375.imageshack.us/img375/4105/nh34intkolairport5vu.jpg

^^^

Thank GOD Calcutta's getting a freeway system

^^^

Thank GOD Calcutta's getting a freeway system

There are some proposals, Nothing concrete.

As per the current status of completion of NH2 on NHAI website
(http://www.nhai.org/completednh2.htm), the Panagarh-Palsit and Palsit-
Dankuni stretches have been marked as completed. The status is as of
30th June 2005.

This would mean the entire stretch of NH2 (Delhi - Kolkata) in WB has
been completed, including Durgapur expressway (Palsit - Dankuni)
stretch, which is supposed to have a design speed of 100kmph !

Can anyone who might have travelled on the stretch recently verify the
correctness ?



A PIB release dated Sept 5, 2005

http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=11795

In Road Transport, all the three projects reporting additional delays of one to two months are on the verge of completion. The Palsit-Dankuni (NH-2) Golden Quadrilateral Project is expected to be commissioned any time, without any cost escalation, as originally estimated at Rs.432.40 crore. The Tuni-Dharmavaram (NH-5) also not reporting cost escalation and remaining originally estimated at nearly Rs.232 crore, has registered time delay of one year. The Himathagar-Chiloda (NH-8) also a Golden Quadrilateral, originally estimated to cost over Rs.180 crore, later revised to Rs.175 crore, has registered a time delay of nearly two years.

_____________

I don't know if the CITU (trade union affliated to the communist party) has put a spanner in the project again.

The Statesman (a very anti establishment newspaper) reported a few weeks back.

http://www.thestatesman.net/page.arcview.php?clid=22&id=114951&usrsess=1

In a letter to the district magistrate of Hooghly, the National Highway Authority of India has requested administrative as well as police assistance so it can install computer hardware and other electronic accessories at the Palsit toll plaza.
The NHAI has let it be known that the two toll plazas for the Budbud-Palsit and Palsit-Dankuni stretches of the highway have already been constructed, collection agencies selected and published as such in a gazette notification. But computers, deemed central to the functioning of the facilities, have not been allowed by Citu loyalists to be installed. They want the NHAI to recruit the 171 members of the Kolkata-Durgapar Expressway Workers’ Union who were similarly employed until being got rid of on 1 July, 2003, when the Durgapur Expressway came to be transferred to the control of the NHAI. These people got their jobs when the expressway was under the state’s public works department.
An NHAI official said that, going by the norms of the Directorate of General Resettlement, 90 per cent of those collecting user-charges should be ex-servicemen. Given this rule, it would be difficult to absorb the 171 job claimants.
A senior NHAI official said that the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and the Defence Ministry had entered into an agreement to get ex-servicemen to collect user-charges at toll plazas across the country. Accordingly, a circular was issued by the MORTH and two agencies of ex-servicemen were selected. He said that 125 people would be taken into each of the two toll plazas for three shifts. He said that the NHAI wanted to have the toll plaza at Budbud working on 25 August.

Suncity, thanks a lot for the updates on Durgapur Expy.

It definitely looks like the road is ready to be thrown open to traffic soon .. being held up by citu et al... I am planning to take a trip down the road sometime later this year.. hoping to take nice shots there !

On a different note, it does seem a little unfair to throw out those guys just because they have a reservation for ex-servicemen. They could have implemented the criteria for new recruits, after absorbing the old employees of the expressway. However, I dont know the whole story here. Maybe the outgoing employees have already received some compensation ?

Suncity, thanks a lot for the updates on Durgapur Expy.

It definitely looks like the road is ready to be thrown open to traffic soon .. being held up by citu et al... I am planning to take a trip down the road sometime later this year.. hoping to take nice shots there !

That would be real cool!!!

On a different note, it does seem a little unfair to throw out those guys just because they have a reservation for ex-servicemen. They could have implemented the criteria for new recruits, after absorbing the old employees of the expressway. However, I dont know the whole story here. Maybe the outgoing employees have already received some compensation ?

I don't know the complete story and I also never completely trust our media because they have their own political interests and are not guardians of truth.

On whatever I read, it does seem to be unfair to the guys concerned. I don't see why they have to lose their current jobs to make way for ex-servicemen.

Suncity, thanks a lot for the updates on Durgapur Expy.

It definitely looks like the road is ready to be thrown open to traffic soon .. being held up by citu et al... I am planning to take a trip down the road sometime later this year.. hoping to take nice shots there !

On a different note, it does seem a little unfair to throw out those guys just because they have a reservation for ex-servicemen. They could have implemented the criteria for new recruits, after absorbing the old employees of the expressway. However, I dont know the whole story here. Maybe the outgoing employees have already received some compensation ?
That will be really kool if you can take some pics... i have heard from my friends who did drive that stretch somewhere around durgapur - Asansol and the road surface is really really good. I saw some toll booths being constructed on the Bombay road while going towards KGP sometime earlier this year. I am not really impressed since, the road wasnt fenced and all in the middle of the highway you have toll booths, where as if would have been better if the toll booths were there on the Entry and Exits of the highway. Anyway surface was pretty good.

http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story.php?content_id=78200

New deal for highways

Empowered Group: Approves new pact that imposes strict conditions on developer, National Highways Authority

Highlights

Zooming ahead
• Risks/benefits’ sharing on traffic flow
• NHAI must get clearances in fixed period
• Developer to follow maintenance norms
• Termination if developer fails in this regard
• Bans ads on highways for safety reasons
• Highway upgrade from four to six laning

Billboards go off the highways (http://www.business-standard.com/common/storypage.php?storyflag=y&leftnm=lmnu2&leftindx=2&lselect=1&chklogin=N&autono=200519)

The government has banned all advertising along national highways in the model concession agreement for build-operate-transfer (BOT) projects. The move is likely to hit the Rs 850-crore outdoor advertising industry as well as the income of road operators.

Officials in the roads and highways department said the move was initiated as large hoardings often distracted drivers, resulting in accidents.

The Indian Roads Congress had also incorporated the clause in its charter. Also, the Supreme Court had banned advertising along roads in cities like Delhi.

The highway operators can, however, use toll plazas, rest areas, bus shelters and telephone booths for advertising purposes if the roads and highways department finds it non-distracting.

The new model concession agreement —which will dictate the terms and conditions for future road contracts — has also reduced the concession period for four-laning of highways from 15 years to 12 years.

http://img363.imageshack.us/img363/4198/toinorthcorr13bl.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

North Corridor project soon
This project will decongest traffic to a large extent along this belt
The Times of India


Ayear after its announcement, the North Corridor project at a cost of Rs 43 crores, will get started soon. The message is clear as the Bangalore City Corporation (BCC) finalised tenders for an underpass at the Cauvery Circle, which is a part of the main project that envisages a six-lane road from Minsk Square to Hebbal Flyover to allow uninterrupted traffic flow.

Says a senior official of the BCC, "as a first step towards the project the BCC recently finalsed tenders to take up the Cauvery Circle underpass to facilitate easy traffic flow from High Grounds police station till the Hebbal flyover. The project will allow vehicles coming from Sankey Road to enter the Bellary Road through a three-lane unidirectional underpass". Further, he says, the development of this particular road is one of the important issues the authorities have on hand. The conversion of four-lane road from Minsk Square till the Hebbal flyover is inevitable considering the development Bangalore north would be witness to. We are thinking of introducing deferred payment mode for this project. "The underpass project is going to cost the BCC Rs 10 crores and once we finish all the technical, legal and financial formalities, which will take about a couple of months' time, the work will begin".

The Cauvery Circle is one of the major junctions in the north-south corridor of the city. It is an important junction in the proposed expressway linking the city and the proposed international airport at Devanahalli. This circle has a traffic density of 7,919 PCU/hour. This intersection is a three-armed intersection of Bellary Road and Sankey Road. The southern arm links areas in the north of Bangalore such as R T Nagar, RMV Extension, and Hebbal with the Central Business District, while the western arm (Sankey Road) links Sadashivanagar, Malleshwaram, and Yeshwanthpur.
Linking north

The project will involve a six-lane road with pedestrian subways, bus bays, auto bays, cobble block footpaths, synchronised automatic signals, ground water chargers along the drains, green spaces along the road, sign boards of international standards and metal alloyed street lamps for greater visibility.

Key features
Upgrading the road from Minsk Square to Hebbal flyover to six lanes Grade separator at Cauvery Junction Widening of underpass at Windsor Manor Pedestrian subways at Sanjay Nagar Cross, Palace Road, GPO, and Mysore Bank Circle Bus bays, auto bays, and parking bays at strategic points to allow a smooth flow of traffic Automatic and synchronised traffic signals Signboards of international standards Metal alloyed street lamps of 400 lux Footpaths of cobble blocks with uniformity in width Service roads wherever possible Ground water charges along the drains

On my recent visit, I had the pleasure of traveling on these wonderful highways. I travelled on NH-46 from Chennai to Bangalore and NH-45 from Tindivanam to Chennai.

I was totally amazed by the quality of these highways. Perfectly smooth. The signs were of international standards, the lanes were marked correctly and what was most surprising was that everyone was trying to stick to lanes, even the truck drivers and bus drivers !!! But there is a lot of rash driving. The exits were all marked clearly. It was really a fun to be on such highways. My only point of complain was that near some small towns, autos and bullock carts were going in the opposite direction.

The ECR was better than I expected. But the beach is visible only in some sections. But still it is pretty scenic. And the SOS phone boxes were there every few km or so IIRC. I was talking to a driver, he said now that it was possible to go from Chennai to Tirunelveli, around 650km or in 6.5 hrs, including a 30 min chai-pani break.

"You have to put up with the rain to see the rainbow". This was on one of the boards on the IT expressway. The IT expressway construction is in full swing. The Kathipara junction was also under construction. I heard rumours that there were plans to extend it to Pondicherry, not sure how true is that. In the city, in some parts of Chennai, people were actually sticking to lanes, but in most parts it was business as usual. One thing that I noticed was the absence of scooters from the roads, either there were those gearless vehicles for ladies or bikes for men. Its just amazing how scooters have almost disappeared from the main cities.

There is an urgent need to widen the Pondy Cuddalore and Cuddalore-Chidambaram sections of the NH-45A and make them 4-laned. There is just too much traffic on those section. Plus widening it could promote religious tourism. Chidambaram, Vaidiswaran Koil, Tirunallar would have a good impact.

Just some of my views on the new highways :).

double post

.

"You have to put up with the rain to see the rainbow". This was on one of the boards on the IT expressway. The IT expressway construction is in full swing. The Kathipara junction was also under construction. I heard rumours that there were plans to extend it to Pondicherry, not sure how true is that. . One thing that I noticed was the absence of scooters from the roads, either there were those gearless vehicles for ladies or bikes for men. Its just amazing how scooters have almost disappeared from the main cities.

.

which one are u talking abt? is it IT expressway going to be extended upto pondy? But there are plans to 4 lane the ECR road.

Regarding the scooters, its no wondery u didnt see it in TN cos scooters(like chetak or bajaj) are not popular in TN, it is considered as femenine vehicle. Only motor bikes are prefered by males. females use scooty,kinetic honda, type of vehicles. You can see only few sardhars and north indians still using scooters in chennai.

double post

^^^^ I heard rumours, as I said, I am not sure. With the current 2-lanes, accidents are quite frequent. It would be good if they 4-lane the ECR.I guess it should be pretty easy to acquire land, especially after the Tsunami, the lands in between the road and the coast would be pretty much useless, so the cost might be low. But they should really really widen the approach near Pondy, its too damn congested.If the ECR becomes 4-laned and they don't widen near Pondy, commuters are going to have a bad time. From Chennai side its ok. NH-45 would become relatively free now. But I found that the frequency of buses from Chennai to Pondy/Cuddalore on the ECR is not that much. From Cuddalore to Chennai, there is a bus every 30 min, on the ECR, it is once every hour or so. Plus, are there any plans to extend the ECR further south of Pondy, to like Tuttukudi or further south?

And yea I meant those Bajaj and LML scooters. Earlier, like a few years ago, they were used by males as well, but now the trend has changed. I guess coz it is due to the fact that they give lower mileage.

I find these while surfing the Google Map

Can anybody confirm.. Is this part of the Bangalore-Mysore Expressway ???

http://img312.imageshack.us/img312/7498/bangaloremap5od.jpg

Another close shot.
http://img312.imageshack.us/img312/9492/bangaloremap26ke.jpg

I was talking to a driver, he said now that it was possible to go from Chennai to Tirunelveli, around 650km or in 6.5 hrs, including a 30 min chai-pani break.

.

Hi

I dont think it is possible to cover this distance in 6.5 hours at this point of time or in the near future. The ECR is only upto Pondy and NH 45 - four lane is also only upto Tindivanam (about 120 kms). It will take several years to 4 lane the remaining distance to Tirunelveli and achieve this kind of timelines

Regards
slakhs

I find these while surfing the Google Map

Can anybody confirm.. Is this part of the Bangalore-Mysore Expressway ???



No. This strip is on NH7 - Bellary/Hyderabad Inter-state highway. It is a new stretch laid to bypass Yelahanka town. Earlier it used to take about 15 mts to go through yelahanka. Now you can zip through this stretch in about 3 minutes.

Yelahanka is on the northern tip of Bangalore.

This is part of the work related to the new Int'l airport near Devanahalli. In fact, a bypass is under construction for Devanahalli too. A trumpet interchange is planned for the NH7 and the new airport access road, which will be between Devanahalli town and Dodjala Railway station. Work had commenced on this interchange when I passed by about a month ago. There is a sign board pointing to a mud topped road, about 100 feet wide, which says 'International Airport'. :)

One comment on the Yelahanka bypass. Its a six lane highway which suddenly branches off from the existing NH7 before you hit Yelahanka suburb. There is no proper intersection at all and no signage. You can miss it if you are driving a bit fast. The left half of the bypass can be accessed only by cutting across oncoming traffic from Yelahanka!!!!

Either a roundabout or an overpass is an immediate need at this point.

Talk about lack of planning...

BTW, I don't think its an NHAI project, but it looks very much like one of the Bangalore Municipality or BDA jobs. Especially when u consider the thoughtless design.

Is this stretch is already complete??? or this pic on the google map is outdated.. Nelaturi. can u confirm....

The bypass is completed, as I've described in my earlier post. Probably, this is an old shot of that area. Its the roundabout / intersection at the corner that is missing. Hopefully, its in the plan and is only delayed in implementation.. :)

NHAI considering plan for road development works in Bangalore

Seven highway projects taken up for development in State


Centre examining feasibility of building four-lane highway between Bijapur and Hospet


655 km of national highways in State being taken up for development by NHAI

Bypasses to be built near major cities


http://www.hindu.com/2005/09/25/stories/2005092503420400.htm


____________________________________________________________________________


And also

Land acquisition problem `almost' solved: Deshpande

# Deputy commissioners authorised to hasten the process of settling arbitration cases relating to land acquisition
# NHAI urged to expedite work on the Devanahalli road project
# Home Department examining a proposal for police patrolling along national highways to prevent encroachment

http://www.hindu.com/2005/09/25/stories/2005092505150500.htm

CHENNAI: The Centre is "seriously considering" a Rs. 22,750-crore project to lay six-lane roads, covering 6,500 km of national highways, Union Minister for Shipping, Road Transport and Highways T.R. Baalu said on Sunday.

"The proposal has been mooted on the direction of the Prime Minister [Manmohan Singh]. It will be implemented on the design, build, finance and operate (DBFO) basis instead of the build, operate and transfer (BOT) basis," Mr. Baalu told presspersons, after inspecting the works implemented by the National Highways Authority of India in and around Chennai.

The project would cover those highways that carried traffic of 40,000 passenger car units (PCU) a day. It would shortly be cleared by the competent authorities.
http://www.hindu.com/2005/09/26/stories/2005092613780100.htm

NHAI report to CBI proves Dubey right, contract rules being rewritten (http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story.php?content_id=78880)

Nearly two years after National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) project manager Satyendra Dubey was killed after he complained to the Prime Minister’s Office about corruption on a Bihar stretch of the Golden Quadrilateral, his organisation has admitted to substance in his charges.

Apart from several in-house inquiries (some are underway), the NHAI says radical reforms are being carried out in selection and contract procedures for highway projects.

The NHAI reforms include introduction of a ‘pear review’ of Detail Project Reports by independent experts, modification of the system of sanctioning mobilisation and equipment advances which will ‘‘henceforth be sanctioned in a phased manner linked to progress of the project.’’

The NHAI’s listing of the actions, corrective measures taken vindicates Dubey’s allegations on several counts.

Does it need an honest official's life for NHAI to learn its lesson. Shame :(

As of June 30, 2005

Mumbai-Delhi section is almost done :cheers:

http://nhai.org/images/june/nh8_m.png

Chennai Mumbai

http://nhai.org/images/june/nh4_m.png

Chennai Kolkata

http://nhai.org/images/june/nh5_m.png

When are they going to complete this part?

http://nhai.org/images/june/nh2_m.png

Does anybody have any map of the majore expressways completed/ under construction in and around Delhi?

PS: Found this abt the Delhi-Gurgaon xway

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2003/20031218/sci.jpg.

As of June 30, 2005

When are they going to complete this part?

http://nhai.org/images/june/nh2_m.png

Not even God knows the answer!

:jk:

They should all have been complet years ago!

the plus side is that the highways are good.

Nice!

Govt. clears Rs 22,750 cr. NHDP-V programe (http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/000200509280301.htm)

The government on Tuesday cleared the Rs 22,750 crore fifth phase of national highways scheme NHDP-V covering 6,500 km to be completed by 2012.

The high-powered committee on infrastructure, headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, approved the six-laning of 5,700 km of Golden Quadrilateral and 800 km of other select sections of highways.

Of the total cost of Rs 22,750 crore, private investment is estimated at Rs 19,335 crore and budgetary support would be of the order of Rs 3,415 crore.

Apart from the Golden Quadrilateral, the highways with a traffic of 25,000 per car units would qualify for six-laning, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said.

They should all have been complet years ago!

the plus side is that the highways are good.


Yes, they are excellent, but some areas like enforcement of traffic safetly laws and lack of driver training need some focus now, I feel.

My trip report at last ! Please refer to the photos posted on the highways (photos only) thread or "Sudipta and Sayanti's Kolkata photos" thread in Gallery section for reference.

Last week we went on a day trip to Burdwan by a Toyota Qualis. I had just seen the newly uploaded photos of durgapur expressway (courtesy – devind & Suncity) and was really feeling excited to be traveling on the stretch ! The last time I went about 15 months back, the road was still being constructed – the flyovers which now form the diamond interchanges were being built. So this was a welcome change !!!

To begin with, let me update the status of the work on the 2nd Vivekananda bridge, which is in full swing. The ramps and approach roads on either side are almost 50-60% complete. But nothing can be seen on the main span over the Hooghly, except a few pilings coming up (which would support the stretch over the bridge). The existing road connecting from the Bally bridge upto NH-2 / NH-6 interchange is in very bad shape due to the ongoing construction activity.

At the NH-2 / NH-6 junction (currently a T-junction!) is being upgraded to a trumpet interchange, with the 4 lane NH-6 coming from Chennai / Mumbai, heading straight to become the durgapur expressway – traffic exiting towards Kolkata (Bally bridge) would need to exit left towards the inner curve of the trumpet, and traffic going from Bally bridge towards NH-2 would have to take the outer curve towards durgapur expressway.

After crossing the ROB over the HB-cord, the smooth 4-laned stretch starts. A strange thing is that there is neither a signal nor any interchange with “Delhi Rd” which just forks off to the right ! Continuing straight ahead there is a traffic signal at Dankuni, just about 1km before the toll plaza. The Dankuni toll plaza is not yet active. Vehicles were just passing by using the extreme left lanes. The distance indicated on one of the green boards was 80kms to Burdwan. The 4-laned highway with a green median had crash barriers as well as fencing around this area. There were 2 service roads on either side. And the road surface was smooooooth ! Our rented Toyota Qualis was easily doing 110 kmph ! And the scenery on either side changed from industrial warehouses to vast stretches of green paddy fields. A couple of “scenic overlooks” would not be a bad idea ! There were a couple of rest areas with football-field size parking lots and a building on the far end – but they were not open for business yet. We spotted some truck lay-bye areas as well where a lot of trucks were parked.

Most of the traffic on the highway was truck traffic with a few cars and (very strangely,) hardly any buses. Seems like even with the superhighways in place, WB people would rather take the train to places like Burdwan, Durgapur, Asansol etc. However, bus bays have been created in some places. Some over-loaded local “trekkers” were visible. Interestingly, most truck drivers were sticking to the left lane, with a few idiots keeping their right wheels on the right lane ! Our relative speed while passing the trucks was very high, indicating that the trucks are running at a very low speed (probably 50kmph)… will India ever get the powerful 18-wheelers that are so common on US highways ?

One thing of concern is that some truck drivers use dangerous practices, such as driving on the wrong side of the road, on the high speed lane. It happened to us – our car was overtaking a truck, which was gradually drifting towards the left lane – all of a sudden, there was a truck straight in front of us, heading towards us ! Our driver had to apply brakes as hard as he could and move over to the left lane. This happened near a place where there was a petrol pump (gas station) on our side of the road… probably, the truck wanted to refuel and did not bother to travel an extra kilometer or two to take a U-turn ! This situation can be potentially more disastrous at night (it happened to us). Another menace was a few cycle-vans loaded with stuff, traveling on the wrong side of the road on the high speed lane shoulder ! I really wondered how little they cared for their own lives. The truck drivers could get away with it because of their sheer size, but these vans can be smashed to bits if hit by an oncoming vehicle !

At some point, trains running on the H-B chord line in the distance were clearly visible. We saw the Rajdhani heading towards Howrah. The Durgapur expressway has another toll plaza at Palsit-end. Here the one-way toll was Rs35. It took us around 40 mins to cover this 65km stretch. After that, starts the Palsit-Panagarh “expressway” on which we had to go another 20km or so to reach Burdwan. Near Shaktigarh, there is a road over bridge crossing the HB chord line, after which the highway runs parallel to the main railway line. Here another incident occurred – our driver had to brake very hard suddenly giving us a jolt – another Toyota Qualis had suddenly swerved directly in front of us, to avoid hitting a stray goat ! This is another danger and indicates the lack of driver training too. In order to save one goat, several human lives were be put at risk. (And eventually this goat would be killed and sold for meat anyway !)

As we approached Burdwan, settlements on either side of the highway is more prevalent on this stretch. The exit towards Bardhhaman came after another 15 mins of driving. There was no interchange, just a stop-and-yield affair. When they get very busy, such junctions usually get manned by a traffic cop, or a signal is installed. Anyway, the fun of the highway was over now as we headed into the crowded narrow streets and bylanes of Burdwan !

The return journey was in the evening, after dusk. The lane markings were fresh and clearly visible – so were the reflective traffic signs. But reflector bits (which can be seen on the Rajarhat 6-lane road) were not placed on the highway, which can be very useful in rainy / foggy weather. On the Durgapur expressway, we came across two traffic lights ! There was no advanced warning of the approaching signals, and our driver sped through the red signal blaring his horn repeatedly. Luckily there was no cross traffic ! When we asked him why he did not stop he answered “at such high speeds it is not possible to stop at such short notice” – partially correct maybe, but he could have braked hard and stopped, I feel. Another indication of lack of driver training !

After passing over one of the interchanges, we saw a truck standing abreast on the highway, blocking both lanes ! Another hard brake for our driver (he was getting good at it) and we stopped with a jolt. The truck was taking a K-turn (three-point turn) in the middle of the road, probably to head back to the exit he had just missed ! At night driving on the wrong side is doubly dangerous. When you see a couple of headlights coming straight towards you, it is difficult to make out whether it is on the wrong side of the median or not ! It happened to us once more – our driver had to brake very hard and swerve towards the left lane very fast – the truck coming from the wrong direction was running at such a high speed – as if he was on the left side of a two lane road ! And there was no service station or interchange in the vicinity – traffic on the other side of the highway was flowing freely, so I have no clue why he had to be on the wrong side at that place.

On the entire trip, there was a complete lack of any form of enforcement – no police patrols, no signs indicating any form of speed restrictions. The road quality and amenities are definitely good, but enforcement of safety regulations is one area where some major improvement is required. Only then can we say our highways are world class.

As we left the durgapur expressway near Dankuni, the construction zone started, traffic was diverted towards the right side of the road. There was a huge line of traffic backed up all the way – mostly trucks, which are not permitted to enter Kolkata during daytime. This chaos is going to continue till they finish work on the 2nd Vivekananda bridge. The old Bally bridge (while approaching Kolkata) is in a horrible state of disrepair, with large potholes. By comparison, BT Road was smooth and very well lit. I believe it has been widened recently.

Overall, it was definitely a good comfortable day trip – unimaginable even a few years back.

Very good report!!!

We definitely need proper law enforcement in every part of India. Everybody knows that except those in charge!

ah yes. teaching indians driving rules. an old complaint of mine but not a 'sexy' area for change yet. driving in indian cities at 20 km/h is a nightmare, forget highways. nobody seems to care, including the majority of the public. almost everyday i get this deep urge to mow down anyone who doesnt follow traffic 'rules'. maybe i need to get a monster truck

ah yes. teaching indians driving rules. an old complaint of mine but not a 'sexy' area for change yet. driving in indian cities at 20 km/h is a nightmare, forget highways. nobody seems to care, including the majority of the public. almost everyday i get this deep urge to mow down anyone who doesnt follow traffic 'rules'. maybe i need to get a monster truck

Yep, thats right, u need to get a monster truck so that you can run down the speed-chickens who are responsible for excessive traffic slowdown.

What is my complaint? People in India drive at 20-30km/h in places where they should be driving at 60-70km/h, from what ive seen. Mind you, this is on surface streets,a dn they do 60-70km/h in 100km/h zones.

I suggest that we all start tailgiating speed-chickens, the ones who are too scared to drive at decent speeds for the zone must be forced into line by nationwide speed protests!

i am not too bothered about slow drivers, as long as they drive on the left, but more about lane-changers, double parkers, etc. people who carelessly change lanes (esp taxis, buses and ricks) and cant stay in their lanes and those who dont stop before a zebra crossing and start inching forward before the signal turns green are my number one targets for mass murder. i am boiling up just thinking about them

not to mention people who jaywalk and walk along the road. those would be easy kills

IJM wins RM415mil highway job in India

http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2005/9/28/business/12163511&sec=business

IJM Corp Bhd has signed a concession agreement with the National Highway Authority of India to construct the four-lane Mahua-Jaipur section of National Highway-11, chief executive officer Krishnan Tan.

“We signed the agreement last Friday,” he said, adding that the contract was worth RM414.7mil and based on a build-operate-transfer basis.

He said work on the 108km-long section project had started and was expected to be completed within 36 months.

NH11 connects Bikaner to Agra via Jaipur.

http://www.mapsofindia.com/driving-directions-maps/NH11.gif

NHAI awards 4-laning of 118 km road on NH-3 under NHDP-III A

http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=104002

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) on Wednesday signed a concession agreement with M/s IRCON-SOMA Tollway Pvt Ltd for four-laning the Pimpalgaon-Dhule section of National Highway - 3 in Maharashtra.

This is among the single biggest contracts awarded so far by NHAI under National Highways Development Project (NHDP).
As far as NHDP-Phase III A goes, the Pimpalgaon-Dhule BOT (build operate transfer) contract is by far the largest in terms of length and project cost. IRCON-SOMA Tollway is a special purpose vehicle formed by M/s IRCON-SOMA JV to four-lane the 118 km long section on the NH-3 (km 380 to km 265). The work on this high-traffic density corridor is expected to be completed in 36 months at a cost of nearly Rs 556 crore.

The agreement involves a negative grant ie IRCON-SOMA Tollway would grant NHAI Rs 58.85 crore as concessionaire (net present value discounted @ 10%) during a period of 20 years (including construction period of three years).

Presently, the Pimpalgaon-Dhule section is two-lane, but after completion, this stretch would be a four-laned road with paved shoulders. In addition, it would have nearly 14 km of service roads on either side in the towns and villages through which the four-lane highway would pass.

While the above two companies will complete 100 kms + stretches in 36 months, why will this one need 36 months for 40 km stretch???

Simplex bags Rs 260 crore NHAI order

http://www.business-standard.com/common/storypage.php?storyflag=y&leftnm=lmnu1&leftindx=1&lselect=1&chklogin=N&autono=200987

Simplex Concrete Piles (India) has bagged a Rs 260 crore contract for execution, completion and maintenance of 40 kilometer (km) Lucknow - Muzaffarpur National Highway project from National Highway Authority of India (NHAI).

"The project on East-West (EW) corridor is expected to be completed within the next 36 months. It involves four laning from 319.8 km to 360.91 km of Gorakhpur-Gopalganj section of NH 28 in Uttar Pradesh ," said Rajiv Mundhra, director.

"We will be completing NHAI's contract of constructing three flyovers in Chennai by November 2006. We bagged the contract four months ago," he added.

Simplex Concrete recently handed over the 72 km AP-12 project to NHAI. The project was worth Rs 259 crore, Mundhra added. The company has recorded a turnover of Rs 311.26 crore in the first quarter of 2005-06.

GQ - 95% to be completed by Dec 2005; 5% held up due to litigation..

Golden Quadrilateral Phase I will be (almost) completed by December

http://news.webindia123.com/news/showdetails.asp?id=120066&cat=India

The first phase of the Golden Quadrilateral project aimed to connect four Metros via national highways will be almost completed by December end, Union Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways K H Muniyappa said today.

Speaking to newsmen after reviewing the works taken up by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) here, he said nearly 95 per cent of the works would be completed and only five per cent would be left following litigations.

The total length of the project was 5846 Kms of which over 5000 km had already been completed at a cost of Rs 23,000 crores.

He said the phase II comprised North-South and East-West corridors connecting the country in all directions. Of the 7300 kms total length, 776 kms (11 per cent) had already been completed involving an investment of Rs 2677 crores.

The third phase, already launched, involved 10,000 kms of roads identified on the basis of traffic potential, would be four laned on Build-Own-Transfer (BOT) basis. Presently, the phase III- totalling 4000 kms was being implemented.

great news after all the talk of the projects getting stalled. just returned from europe and i was wondering when i would have the pleasure of driving around my own country in comfort

Infrastructure panel okays upgrading 23 roads in Bangalore

The empowered committee set up by the state government to monitor the progress of infrastructure projects in the city and pacify the IT industry
, on Friday decided to upgrade 23 roads by June 2006.

Talking to reporters, state minister for industries and finance P G R Sindhia said Union finance minister P Chidambaram had promised him recently that the Centre was willing to consider the state’s request for infrastructure development funds of Rs 5,000 crore.

http://www.business-standard.com/common/storypage.php?storyflag=y&leftnm=lmnu2&leftindx=2&lselect=1&chklogin=N&autono=201798


So they have a new committee now, what happened to the BATF :dunno:?

So now they have a new committee now, what happened to the BATF ?

It is now Bangalore Amputed Task Force :-)

Look who is cashing in on the fiasco created by our babus and netas.
Unless the middle class doen't go for polling this is what you expect.
I feel this is the time people of bangalore stepin and remove the
anti-development politicians from power.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2005/10/01/stories/2005100102530400.htm

A Chinese vendor paints India black to woo clients

Bharat Kumar
Krishnan Thiagarajan

The battle is not about pricing or quality but about issues on which India's image has been traditionally less-than-bright: poor infrastructure, not to mention manpower attrition in the software industry.

Chennai , Sept. 30

INDIA'S infrastructure woes have been the favourite punching bag for industrialists and ministers recently.

Now, the Chinese have also picked up the thread. They are using it as a marketing tool to showcase their strengths in software.

Sample an e-mail from a Chinese company doing the rounds in the US and you know how it hurts below the belt. The battle is not about pricing or quality, but about issues on which India's image has been traditionally less-than-bright: poor infrastructure, not to mention manpower attrition in the software industry.

The e-mail comes from Mr Frank Hui of China Tech Source, a company with development centres in Boston, Silicon Valley, Shanghai and Beijing.

Big claims

It talks about a growing number of companies choosing China over India as a destination for offshore outsourcing of software development and even claims that some companies have decided to shift from India to China. It says, "Things become intolerable outside the borders of a few software parks in India (bad road, dirty water, bad phone connection, frequent power outage... ), everything looks nice wherever you go in China."

It also talks of attrition rates exceeding 60 per cent for many "India sites... (while) those in China remain ... below 10 per cent".

Significantly, top Indian companies such as TCS and Infosys have recorded attrition rates in the region of 10 per cent.

The e-mail claims that Chinese software workers stay with "the team for many years" while it is difficult to "maintain a stable team in India for more than six months."

Mr Hui adds, "India sites cost shot up 20 per cent a year over the past 5 years, while the cost of running similar China sites has remained flat during the same period."

Interestingly, while Indian companies have cited time zone differences as an advantage for US clients, the e-mail says, "During afternoon hours of US time, while staff at India sites are still sound asleep, the staff at China sites are already in the middle of routine conference calls with their US counterparts."

Timely reminder

Mr Neelam Dwivedi, Vice-President (Marketing and Sales) at Proteans Software, a company that does outsourced software product development, was one of the first to feel the pinch. He said, "A US client received this e-mail but fortunately we have a good relationship with them. It is not a question of direct competition between two players, but it's about two countries."

He felt that the problem of infrastructure development, key to raking up software orders, is an issue that is too large even for the National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom), the software industry's apex body, to deal with.

"We have industrialists citing Bangalore's poor infrastructure as an example of how not to be. It is time the government did something to improve the image of India worldwide."

Mr Krishnakumar N, President and CEO, IT Services, at Mindtree Consulting was another recipient of the e-mail even though it was intended for IT buyers rather than vendors.

Replying to Business Line's e-mail, Mr Hui confirmed sending out the mail and said, "The context of my original e-mail is to promote our offshore IT services in China. It should not be read as academic research."

On India's manpower attrition problems, he says, "... High attrition problems are mostly with second and third tier India vendors, not with the top firms. We focus on small projects, which puts us in competition with smaller India vendors, and that is where it matters to our client base."

Commenting on the issue of Indians working in development centres in China, he said, "I do not believe there are many Indian IT professionals currently working for Chinese companies in China and I have not met any either. Instead, many are working for Indian companies or US companies in China (for example for Infosys in Shanghai, TCS in Hangzhou and GE in Dalian)."

Still the first choice

Interestingly, Gartner had a release last fortnight stating that "India is still first choice for global sourcing although competition (is) mounting."

The report also said that in terms of the number of IT professionals, "currently, only China comes close to India in potential."

It added that India had "the majority of essential resources and sufficiently robust infrastructures to deliver IT products and services successfully. Other countries - including China, Brazil and the Czech Republic - are making inroads, but they currently lack some of the attributes to qualify as leaders."

Yesterday I watched a National Geographic documentary about some mega-bridge being built over the sea for Mumbai...was very impressive and exciting!

anyone have more renderings of this bridge?

IT's called the Bandra-Worli sealink and was expected to be finished by 2004 but due to delays it might not be finished until 2007-2009

So they have a new committee now, what happened to the BATF :dunno:?
This one is the Garam Singh version of BATF. BATF was formed by SM Krishna govt and those two don't see eye-to-eye. More over with fools like Deve Gowda crying crocodile tears for rural masses, city development took a back seat. Read this (http://www.hindu.com/2005/09/29/stories/2005092920010400.htm)

"The Nirmala Bangalore pay-and-use toilets are an example of this. Twenty-seven of them were funded by Sudha Murthy's Infosys Foundation and 52 were built by the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP) to high standards of cleanliness. More were to come up but suitable land was not available.
....
The BMP, the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA), the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB), Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (BESCOM) and the police presented "progress report"' on their performances and these were discussed in depth. Suggestion to improve their functioning was made and taken seriously. The corporates helped out by sponsoring parks, playgrounds and by beautifying barren traffic islands. The Lake Development Authority (LDA) rejuvenated some of the lakes in and around the city. Some lakes were reclaimed by the BMP and the Forest Department.

Ever since the Congress-Janata Dal (Secular) coalition came to power, voices were raised against the BATF on the grounds that the corporates were dictating terms to the Government. The IT industry cannot claim to represent all sections of Bangaloreans was another charge. Although Chief Minister N. Dharam Singh hinted at reviving the BATF, no step was taken.

The Janata Dal (S) leadership is reported to be against the idea. Its pro-rural and pro-poor slant may not fit in with a voluntary body which is largely represented by the IT and biotechnology sectors ...."

Yesterday I watched a National Geographic documentary about some mega-bridge being built over the sea for Mumbai...was very impressive and exciting!

anyone have more renderings of this bridge?


Here (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=197468) is the link for the Bandra Worli Sea Link thread. It has renderings and u/c photos. And the official website is www.bandraworlisealink.com

I agree. The problem is India's leaders are elected by agriculture folks who have no knowledge of the issues you are talking about. They constitute 70% of the population yet contribute to only 22% of GDP - an extremely poor ratio indeed. If this sector were a separate nation, it'd be worse than sub-sharan africa. It is that bad. In China, every city's mayor today has "the amount of business he brings in" and "the amount of money spent on infrastructure" as the political goals. The question is can the Congress leadership turn around and tell to Dharam Singh that he has to spend $2 billion in Bangalore and if he doesnt he's out? This is what is happening in China. It is government induced spending.

The power given to states in india need to be curtailed a bit and some more subjects from the concurrent list of the constitution need to be transferred to the federal list. Health care, Education, etc. which are on concurrent list are suffering badly due to poor mismanagement by state governments.

India needs to fix its bureaucracy at the state level to develop seamlessly and achieve steady growth rates. Otherwise, India, deapite being a democracy will be forced to adopt a China-like "push" model for development. Indian courts could, unlike in China, however considerably delay the process. Unlike in the US where the accuser has to prove his case, in India the defender has to acquit himslef. This is a poor way of rendering justice. So any project can be stayed and it is upto the promotors to prove everything. That's going to piss off a lot of people.

MP


Look who is cashing in on the fiasco created by our babus and netas.
Unless the middle class doen't go for polling this is what you expect.
I feel this is the time people of bangalore stepin and remove the
anti-development politicians from power.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2005/10/01/stories/2005100102530400.htm

A Chinese vendor paints India black to woo clients

Bharat Kumar
Krishnan Thiagarajan

The battle is not about pricing or quality but about issues on which India's image has been traditionally less-than-bright: poor infrastructure, not to mention manpower attrition in the software industry.

Chennai , Sept. 30

INDIA'S infrastructure woes have been the favourite punching bag for industrialists and ministers recently.

Now, the Chinese have also picked up the thread. They are using it as a marketing tool to showcase their strengths in software.

Sample an e-mail from a Chinese company doing the rounds in the US and you know how it hurts below the belt. The battle is not about pricing or quality, but about issues on which India's image has been traditionally less-than-bright: poor infrastructure, not to mention manpower attrition in the software industry.

The e-mail comes from Mr Frank Hui of China Tech Source, a company with development centres in Boston, Silicon Valley, Shanghai and Beijing.

Big claims

It talks about a growing number of companies choosing China over India as a destination for offshore outsourcing of software development and even claims that some companies have decided to shift from India to China. It says, "Things become intolerable outside the borders of a few software parks in India (bad road, dirty water, bad phone connection, frequent power outage... ), everything looks nice wherever you go in China."

It also talks of attrition rates exceeding 60 per cent for many "India sites... (while) those in China remain ... below 10 per cent".

Significantly, top Indian companies such as TCS and Infosys have recorded attrition rates in the region of 10 per cent.

The e-mail claims that Chinese software workers stay with "the team for many years" while it is difficult to "maintain a stable team in India for more than six months."

Mr Hui adds, "India sites cost shot up 20 per cent a year over the past 5 years, while the cost of running similar China sites has remained flat during the same period."

Interestingly, while Indian companies have cited time zone differences as an advantage for US clients, the e-mail says, "During afternoon hours of US time, while staff at India sites are still sound asleep, the staff at China sites are already in the middle of routine conference calls with their US counterparts."

Timely reminder

Mr Neelam Dwivedi, Vice-President (Marketing and Sales) at Proteans Software, a company that does outsourced software product development, was one of the first to feel the pinch. He said, "A US client received this e-mail but fortunately we have a good relationship with them. It is not a question of direct competition between two players, but it's about two countries."

He felt that the problem of infrastructure development, key to raking up software orders, is an issue that is too large even for the National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom), the software industry's apex body, to deal with.

"We have industrialists citing Bangalore's poor infrastructure as an example of how not to be. It is time the government did something to improve the image of India worldwide."

Mr Krishnakumar N, President and CEO, IT Services, at Mindtree Consulting was another recipient of the e-mail even though it was intended for IT buyers rather than vendors.

Replying to Business Line's e-mail, Mr Hui confirmed sending out the mail and said, "The context of my original e-mail is to promote our offshore IT services in China. It should not be read as academic research."

On India's manpower attrition problems, he says, "... High attrition problems are mostly with second and third tier India vendors, not with the top firms. We focus on small projects, which puts us in competition with smaller India vendors, and that is where it matters to our client base."

Commenting on the issue of Indians working in development centres in China, he said, "I do not believe there are many Indian IT professionals currently working for Chinese companies in China and I have not met any either. Instead, many are working for Indian companies or US companies in China (for example for Infosys in Shanghai, TCS in Hangzhou and GE in Dalian)."

Still the first choice

Interestingly, Gartner had a release last fortnight stating that "India is still first choice for global sourcing although competition (is) mounting."

The report also said that in terms of the number of IT professionals, "currently, only China comes close to India in potential."

It added that India had "the majority of essential resources and sufficiently robust infrastructures to deliver IT products and services successfully. Other countries - including China, Brazil and the Czech Republic - are making inroads, but they currently lack some of the attributes to qualify as leaders."

The Janata Dal (S) leadership is reported to be against the idea. Its pro-rural and pro-poor slant may not fit in with a voluntary body which is largely represented by the IT and biotechnology sectors ...."

There is nothing wrong in being pro-rural and pro-poor. But the problem is that all this pro rural pro, poor stance is basically fake. For over five decades every political leader and party has claimed to be just that, but nothing really has improved dramatically in the rural areas. If these useless leaders did even one percent for the villages what they promised at every election meeting, then India would really see dramatic improvement. It's basically all talk and no work for a lot of these politicians. And they have a huge and lazy babucracy only too happy to oblige in not doing any work.

I agree. The problem is India's leaders are elected by agriculture folks who have no knowledge of the issues you are talking about. They constitute 70% of the population yet contribute to only 22% of GDP - an extremely poor ratio indeed. If this sector were a separate nation, it'd be worse than sub-sharan africa. It is that bad.

It's wrong to assume that village folks are opposed to development in cities. It is what incompetent politicians use as an excuse for not being able to develop either our cities or our villages. The fault lies squarely on politicians and the babucracy.

People in villages want schools, colleges, roads, drinking water, sanitation, electricity..Villagers aren't anti reforms. They in fact want more reforms.

But the governments are failing to provide that.

There is another point that bothers me. 60% of our population is engaged in agriculture or agriculture related activities. They work hard (probably harder than the rest) and feed the whole nation. Yet their contribution is just 25% of GDP. I don't know much of economics but it is kind of sad to see prices of food being so low.

It would be interesting to know how much value, production of one plasma TV (non essential item) brings to GDP viz a viz one kilogram of rice (essential item).

Agriculture now contributes only about 20.5% to GDP. Manufacturing and Services growth has eroded multiple percentage points from its contribution to overall GDP in just the last couple of years. However it employs about 65% of the population. Artificially raising crop prices is a subsidy, not a solution.

A sustainable solution involves:
a) Reducing the number of people involved in agriculture, since it is the least productive form of economic activity.
b) Greater industrialization to absorb the population leaving agriculture.
c) Greater urbanization to host those moving from rural areas to cities as result.

The whole 'pro-poor'/'pro-rural' song and dance completely misses the plot. Development and enhancement of urban areas must receive priority, not just for the existing residents, but for those who will stream in. In parallel, subsidies in agriculture need to be replaced with investment in mechanization and technology to cut manual labor and in parallel, increase productivity. This is the only way to go.

Those Chinese showpiece cities do just this - absorb the rural population, while their manic industrial growth employs them, though they too have to struggle to keep supply up with demand.

There is nothing wrong in being pro-rural and pro-poor. But the problem is that all this pro rural pro, poor stance is basically fake. For over five decades every political leader and party has claimed to be just that, but nothing really has improved dramatically in the rural areas. If these useless leaders did even one percent for the villages what they promised at every election meeting, then India would really see dramatic improvement. It's basically all talk and no work for a lot of these politicians. And they have a huge and lazy babucracy only too happy to oblige in not doing any work.

As per the politicians, "pro-poor" stands for keeping the people poor, so that
the people keep coming to the politicians than the other way around.
They are few jokers in there such as Laloos, Gowda and Karat, whoese
interest is basicially keep the people poor.
People join unions to protect their jobs, but they do no the fact these
union leaders become damn rich being a union leader.
If you guys know, in south korea the current president won just becoz of
internet canvassing, the IT savvy people use the internet to lobby for vote (mainly middle aged guys).
I believe it is time , we too do organize and use the forum to get the message to the people and keep this jokers out.

exactly. i have been saying it for years. all this talk about developing our villages to a point where no one wants to go to the cities is a pipe dream. any country that wants to make the transition to a developed economy will have to absorb rural workers into more urban jobs. preparing our cities for this is the greatest challenge for india. it is inevitable. unless of course the plan is to keep india a 'khadi' economy, the romantic visions of gandhi, etc. then we are probably not doing too badly

Agriculture now contributes only about 20.5% to GDP. Manufacturing and Services growth has eroded multiple percentage points from its contribution to overall GDP in just the last couple of years. However it employs about 65% of the population. Artificially raising crop prices is a subsidy, not a solution.

A sustainable solution involves:
a) Reducing the number of people involved in agriculture, since it is the least productive form of economic activity.
b) Greater industrialization to absorb the population leaving agriculture.
c) Greater urbanization to host those moving from rural areas to cities as result.

The whole 'pro-poor'/'pro-rural' song and dance completely misses the plot. Development and enhancement of urban areas must receive priority, not just for the existing residents, but for those who will stream in. In parallel, subsidies in agriculture need to be replaced with investment in mechanization and technology to cut manual labor and in parallel, increase productivity. This is the only way to go.

Those Chinese showpiece cities do just this - absorb the rural population, while their manic industrial growth employs them, though they too have to struggle to keep supply up with demand.

EXACTLY!!!!!!!!

ignoring India's cities aand dumping cash into rural areas for no reason is like trying to compete in Le Mans 24hrs without oil changes, it's strenuous on the economy, cities are the economic engines of a country, and MUST be properly maintained, who the hell cares about rural areas, jsut give them proper connectivity so taht they can commute to urban areas to work and stuff like that, and frankly, Indian cities are, for the most part, as bad as African cities in terms of infrastructure development, case in point, Hyderabad's skyline is so bad, it's worse than Mombasa, it has NO SEMBLANCE OF A FREEWAY SYSTEM WHATSOEVER SO VEHICULAR TRAFFIC IN THE CITY IS CHOCKED AS HELL AND CANNOT MOVE CAUSING A MAJOR COMMERCE SNAG.

What India needs is a FINAL SOLUTION TO URBAN FAILURE: Pro-urban lobbies, and the swift and clean reformation of anti-progressives by way of boot camps. Beggars can be picked off the streets and put to use by way of state and private employment in the construction and maufacturing sectors.

Those who say "Oh, why do we need x,y,z urban improvement/industrial development/etc when there are millions starving?" are anti-progressives. Those millions will not starve if there is money, which is generated by way of INDUSTRY. Counter-industrialists deserve to be seriously reformed, they ahve been brainwashed by Gandhi's anti-industrial propoganda (spinning your own cotton at home and gettign milk from your own cow just doesn't get you anywhere in terms of cool factor)

Here (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=197468) is the link for the Bandra Worli Sea Link thread. It has renderings and u/c photos. And the official website is www.bandraworlisealink.com

Thanks! :)

I believe the members have succinctly captured a great number of points that seem common sense yet are not being implemented by the Indian government. I am pained to see that Indian oliticians even today have failed to grasp that emancipation of the poor lies in market forces and resurgent cities rather than rural dole outs. Like someone said, Indian agriculture cannot support 65% of people. The prices have been kept artifically subdued by the Indian government so that farmers dont end up competing. This socialist policy is because of the green revolution where planners thought keeping everyone poor was better than tiered layers of richness (which incidentally would have made the poorest of the poor today richer). Indian middle class is on a consumption spree. How is the farm community benefiting from this? In no way. Their incomes are actually falling, by one measure. The Indian Government needs to immediatley focus on how to get the benefits of the middle class consumption to the agriculture folks. It can do this in many ways:

- industrialization - large packaged food factories to increase number of calories of food consumed per day (Indians consume 1/9th the average calories than an American consumes per day). Indians need to eat more food and drink more stuff. This will have a price boost effect on Indian farmers.
- middle class deposits in banks could turn into loans for farmers and lead to better credit for buying personal items and other stuff leading to more consumption; a credit induced consumption for farmers is needed. By the way, do farmers qualify for credit cards?
- exports: india should aim to become the food factory of the world. If politicans claim we are self-sufficient today yet the farmer's income is so low, then why not export all over the world and produce more and earn more.

Indian government needs to frame policies to immediately kick start the above. Else, there'll be two separate nations in India and a civil war cannot be ruled out.

MP

EXACTLY!!!!!!!!

ignoring India's cities aand dumping cash into rural areas for no reason is like trying to compete in Le Mans 24hrs without oil changes, it's strenuous on the economy, cities are the economic engines of a country, and MUST be properly maintained, who the hell cares about rural areas, jsut give them proper connectivity so taht they can commute to urban areas to work and stuff like that, and frankly, Indian cities are, for the most part, as bad as African cities in terms of infrastructure development, case in point, Hyderabad's skyline is so bad, it's worse than Mombasa, it has NO SEMBLANCE OF A FREEWAY SYSTEM WHATSOEVER SO VEHICULAR TRAFFIC IN THE CITY IS CHOCKED AS HELL AND CANNOT MOVE CAUSING A MAJOR COMMERCE SNAG.

What India needs is a FINAL SOLUTION TO URBAN FAILURE: Pro-urban lobbies, and the swift and clean reformation of anti-progressives by way of boot camps. Beggars can be picked off the streets and put to use by way of state and private employment in the construction and maufacturing sectors.

Those who say "Oh, why do we need x,y,z urban improvement/industrial development/etc when there are millions starving?" are anti-progressives. Those millions will not starve if there is money, which is generated by way of INDUSTRY. Counter-industrialists deserve to be seriously reformed, they ahve been brainwashed by Gandhi's anti-industrial propoganda (spinning your own cotton at home and gettign milk from your own cow just doesn't get you anywhere in terms of cool factor)

Ok this is getting offtopic. In this thread one should talk about highways and road projects.
Discussion about macro economical issues should be in economic thread.

I will merge the economic debate here in to the economic-thread later.

NHAI awards single biggest contract (http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=105629)

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) on Friday signed a concession agreement on four-laning the Vadape-Gonde route of NH-3 in Maharashtra. The agreement was signed by NHAI with M/s Mumbai Nasik Expressway.

The task of converting this 100 km-long route on BOT basis is expected to be completed in 36 months with an estimated cost of Rs. 579 crore, thus making it the single biggest contract awarded so far in terms of project cost under the National Highways Development Project (NHDP)-Phase III A.

Small freeways for Bangalore

http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7112/1507/1600/toistilts.jpg

City to have 3 roads on stilts
Toll Ways Planned On Airport, Hosur, Bellary Roads
The Times of India

Bangalore: The thinking cap to place Bangalore on the global infrastructure map has been put on. And it has come up with a proposal to build three elevated toll roads, a la Bangkok, on a Build Operate Transfer (BOT) basis. It will be completed in 30 months, just in time when the Devanahalli International airport too gets done.

Elevated toll roads, according to the proposal by R K Misra, a member of the Empowered Committee on Infrastructure and Traffic Management, have been planned on Airport Road, Hosur Road and Bellary Road/Tumkur Road. Chief secretary B K Das on Saturday directed infrastructure secretary Vinay Kumar to take up a feasibility study and return to the committee on Oct 28. Infrastructure Development Corporation of Karnataka (iDECK), which is a joint venture between the Karnataka government and Infrastructure Development Finance Corporation, will conduct the study. Vinay Kumar said, “It is a new idea and we are looking at it.”

The proposal was mooted at Saturday’s meeting of the committee, the second since it was formed. Sources said both the Bangalore City Corporation and Bangalore Development Authority are keen.

The elevated roads will have exit/entry ramps at important junctions to connect satellite towns with the Central Business District without congesting city roads.

The plan indicates that the Airport Road-Whitefield 12-km road over road will start at Trinity Circle and go up to Brookefield junction, with entry/exit ramps at 100 Feet Road, Indiranagar, the Airport and Marathahalli Outer Ring Road.

The Hosur Road-Madivala 6-km elevated road will start at Vellara junction and go up to Silk Board junction and will have ramps at Koramangala.
The third elevated Road on Bellary Road will have two branches, one going to Hebbal and the other to Peenya. It will begin at Raj Bhavan and split at Mekhri Circle, and have ramps at Cauvery Theatre junction, Yeshwanthpur beyond IISc and may be one or two more ramps at important traffic junctions on Tumkur Road.

For funding and execution, it has been suggested that the government either float global tenders or use the Swiss Challenge Method to short list bidders.

In the Swiss Challenge Method, the government takes the feasibility report from the original proposer, fix it as the base and call for bids. If the bidders better the proposal, the original proposer will be given the right to refuse and match the bid.

If the original proposer cannot match it, the better bidder will take the project. Then, the original proposer will be paid the cost of conducting the feasibility report.

Former Prime Minister HD Develowda's hatred for any infrastructure for Bangalore is looked into further by Indian Express when they take a look into his opposition to the BMIC.

Raasta Roko courtesy Gowda (http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story.php?content_id=80596)

An hour from the manic congestion of Bangalore’s heart, construction teams are blasting rock and paving stretches to desperately complete the first phase of a 164-km string of expressways and five townships that will eventually sprawl across an area the size of Singapore—all the way up to Mysore.

The first glimpse of the promise of the Bangalore-Mysore Infrastructure Corridor will be evident in December: An 8-km sliver of expressway connecting two critical arterial roads out of Bangalore will be opened—a nerve-wracking hour-long drive of 23 traffic signals should become a five-minute glide.

Costing over Rs 2000 crore, this is India’s first private infrastructure project to build inter-city expressways combined with world-class townships. So the government should be abuzz. Hardly.

The entire 64-km first phase—linking all of Bangalore’s main highways along which the ever-expanding but immensely frustrated tech industry is located—could be ready by the summer of 2006. But Singh and his government don’t want to talk because they fear the wrath of their powerful partner: former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda.

Infosys Chief mentor N R Narayana Murthy is irked and hurt by land-grab accusations and ridicule from Gowda, but Murthy can perhaps console himself that he’s only now become a public target—and not yet an outcaste.

Ask Ashok Kheny what it’s like to attempt building 175 km of expressways from Bangalore to Mysore, embellished with five townships, a 400 MW power plant, water and sewage systems—while being an outcaste.

‘‘I can tell you this, if I had to do this again, no amount of money would entice me to do so,’’ the normally voluble, bustling Kheny, managing director of the Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise, said warily, as his project’s future readies for denouement in the Supreme Court next month.

It’s been eight years since the signing of the formal constitution of the project (the final framework agreement). Paralysed by Kheny’s bruising public battle with Gowda, but now fearful of the impending court judgement, the state last week started releasing stalled swathes of the 6,200 acres needed to throw open the Rs 830-crore first phase.

Now, here’s the irony: it was Gowda, who as chief minister in 1995, had cleared the project aimed at decongesting Bangalore.

But Gowda—the controlling partner in Karnataka’s coalition government—has got the state to do volte faces in court, try to renege on signed agreements and drop the project from the city’s desperately needed infrastructure plans.

‘One must hand it to Nandi for patience,’’ said a bank official. ‘‘There is no project like this in India, no one to look up to for advice, hats off to them for perseverance...there are a lot of issues that must be handled.’’


lol, its ridiculous what a shameless little vermin that jerkoff is and still manages to rule the roost over the gutless Congress.

http://www.indianexpress.com/ieimages/pics/expressway-b.jpg

Former Prime Minister HD Develowda's hatred for any infrastructure for Bangalore is looked into further by Indian Express when they take a look into his opposition to the BMIC.

Raasta Roko courtesy Gowda (http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story.php?content_id=80596)




lol, its ridiculous what a shameless little vermin that jerkoff is and still manages to rule the roost over the gutless Congress.

http://www.indianexpress.com/ieimages/pics/expressway-b.jpg

Some really baaaaaaaad Hindi, Angreji, Tamil and Kannada swear words are on my tounge. And oh, a couple of Telugu ones too :).

lol, its ridiculous what a shameless little vermin that jerkoff is and still manages to rule the roost over the gutless Congress.


My guess is the ^%$#@! is hoping for an election and is getting ready by being in the front pages every day and keeping his opponenets including Siddharamiah out of the from pages !

Hari, you arent alone.

Aryabhata, you are absoutely right. The elections are coming soon and the weiner wants to reinforce his image as the "son of the soil" and for that he does not mind sullying the image of the corporates and urban infrastructure projects as being anti-poor and taking away the land from the farmer.

But we all need another thread dedicated exclusively to Goonda because it is not just that one individual but he represents that class of leadership that will not hesitate to pawn their nation's interests for their own. India has faced, is facing and will face traitors like him, unfortunately.

old mumbai - pune highway , before lonavla-khandala.

http://img427.imageshack.us/img427/8104/aerialviewoldandnewnationalhig.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Hari, you arent alone.

But we all need another thread dedicated exclusively to Goonda because it is not just that one individual but he represents that class of leadership that will not hesitate to pawn their nation's interests for their own. India has faced, is facing and will face traitors like him, unfortunately.

"Traitors of India" would be a nice title., We could start it in Chaibar. Top of my mind are besides Humble Framer are Brinda and Prakash KarRat. Who else can you think of?

PS: Mods, I will edit this as soon as we start the thread.

Don't forget to add Nilopat Basu. He will do to Mumbai and Delhi Airports what the left has done to WB and Kerala.

Added later: He also plans to investigate the tenders awarded for BIAL. From the horse's mouth (http://pd.cpim.org/2005/1009/10092005_standing%20committee.htm)

Nice long article on Frontline about the mess in Bangalore.

The two Bangalores (http://www.flonnet.com/fl2222/stories/20051104002504600.htm)


THE State government has made it clear, in both intent and action, that attracting foreign and Indian corporates to Bangalore through the promise of high-quality infrastructure and concessions in the purchase of land will continue to be its priority. There are currently three mega development projects in the pipeline that were offered major concessions in the purchase of land. Land for the 138.6 sq km IT Corridor to the east of the city, first conceived in 1999 and still under development, was acquired under the single-window clearance scheme of the Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (KIADB) from small farmers in the area at very low rates (several landowners in the area have challenged in the High Court the acquisition of their lands at rates they allege are well below the market value).

The IT Corridor has been provided with high-grade infrastructure and services, connectivity and dedicated water supply channels. Feverish construction activity is taking place, within its limits, of giant software establishments and massive high-end housing projects. The second major project, for which the State government has acquired 4,000 acres (1,600 hectares), is the proposed new international airport at Devanahalli, which is to be constructed at a cost of Rs.1,355 crores. The area is now under the jurisdiction of the Bangalore International Airport Planning Authority. Around 40 per cent of the total area will be allotted for real estate development to fund the public-private partnership that will build the airport. Here too land was acquired from farmers at relatively low rates.

The third major project is the Bangalore Mysore Infrastructure Corridor (BMIC), a six-lane-111-km highway connecting Bangalore and Mysore. The KIADB notified over 29,000 acres (11,600 ha) to be acquired on behalf of the private company that is constructing the BMIC. The project has been mired in a corruption scandal over land acquisition ever since work on it began.

Lawrence Liang, lawyer and civil rights activist, said: "Under the S.M. Krishna government, a major change took place in the way the KIADB Act was implemented. A high-level committee set up a single-window clearance agency. This enabled companies to approach directly the committee, which could then sanction the acquisition of land by the KIADB for the company. Large blocks of land were cleared for acquisition by individual companies. Land developers had the potential to create dummy software companies which could acquire land that was then used for real estate and speculative purposes."

The response of the State government to the recent uproar from the corporate sector for better infrastructure has been to intensify the corporate-oriented urban development path that it has initiated. The draft Comprehensive Development Plan (CDP) released by the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) in June envisages as one of its objectives "hi-tech development by earmarking land for 375,000 new jobs related to IT, software, electronics, telecommunications and other emerging knowledge-based industries by the year 2015". There is no package for "shadow areas", indeed they are not even mentioned in the main recommendations of the CDP.

Officials of the BDA made public presentations on the salient features of the CDP every day for 60 days. "We received over 7,000 suggestions. Over 94 per cent of these were individual grievances and the rest were on policy issues. An independent committee will look into these suggestions before the CDP is finalised," said M.N. Vidyashankar, BDA Commissioner.

There was criticism from civic and environmental groups on the envisaged shrinkage of the green belt around Bangalore from 739 sq km to 400 sq km. There was also criticism of the plans for a peripheral ring road, which overlaps in some sections with the BMIC road that is under construction. The two roads run almost parallel to each other over a 46-km stretch, with a minimum gap of 1.6 km and a maximum gap of 3.3 km between them within this stretch.

The State government is nevertheless going ahead with the construction of a peripheral ring road for heavy vehicular traffic, a 109-km, eight-lane highway expandable to 22 lanes at a later stage, at a cost of Rs.1,100 crores. It will be the longest highway in the country and the project is expected to take eight months for land acquisition and 30 months for construction, according to the BDA Commissioner.

The other major development proposal that has received Cabinet clearance is a High Tech City in Phase 2 of the IT Corridor, beyond Sarjapur, for which Rs.491 crores has been earmarked. The State government will acquire 997 acres (about 399 ha), of which 500 acres (200 ha) will be earmarked for IT and biotechnology companies. Companies can acquire between one and 50 acres for the construction of offices and residential layouts for their employees. Tenders for layouts and roads have already been invited. The occupation of the High Tech City, entirely funded by the BDA, will commence only after the CDP is approved.

Work on a long-pending mass transport system has begun. The Central and State governments will together fund the Rs.6,500-crore metro rail project equally. "Nine hundred new vehicles are added to the roads of Bangalore every day and by March-end 2005, Bangalore had 25.6 lakh vehicles on its roads," said K.N. Shrivastava, managing director of Bangalore Mass Transport Rapid Transport Ltd. (BMRTL).

"The metro rail project will definitely help in traffic decongestion, reduced fuel consumption, less strain on roads, saving of travel time and reduction in accidents. The profitability of such a transport system will only occur over time," he said. A metro network of 36.5 km will be completed in five years in Phase I of the project in the central business district.

Rs 700 crore Mumbai-Nashik highway plans hit the fast lane

Mumbai: Work on quadrupling the Mumbai-Nashik highway is expected to commence in a month and will be completed in the next twothree years.
The Rs 700-crore expansion plan, which had been stuck for several years, was revived after Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar and state PWD minister Chhagan Bhujbal evinced keen interest in the project.
Incidentally, Pawar was held up in a traffic jam at Kasara Ghat some time last year and had to walk a considerable distance along the ghats. The incident had prompted the PWD ministry to take up the highway expansion issue again. Pawar too held a meeting with Union surface transport minister T R Baalu on the issue.
The expansion project is part of the National Highway Development Plan which is being executed by the National Highway Authority of India, a central agency. The work will be carried out on a build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis, a PWD source said.
“The state is keen that the Centre complete the Mumbai-Nashik project at the earliest. This is part of the state’s golden triangle (Mumbai-Nashik-Pune) highway project,’’ said an official. As part of the project, the Thane-Bhiwandi bypass off the Nashik highway is also being converted into four lanes. About 125 kms of the road still needs to be quadrupled.
PWD officials have indicated that the state government may not take up quadrupling of a 138-km stretch between Sinnar and Rajgurunagar on the Pune-Nashik highway because “it is not feasible’’. TNN

why does it take a senior minister being inconvenienced for the government to take any action? india's politcians are like the new royalty. they need to be guillotined

""Lawrence Liang, lawyer and civil rights activist, said: "Under the S.M. Krishna government, a major change took place in the way the KIADB Act was implemented. A high-level committee set up a single-window clearance agency. This enabled companies to approach directly the committee, which could then sanction the acquisition of land by the KIADB for the company. Large blocks of land were cleared for acquisition by individual companies. Land developers had the potential to create dummy software companies which could acquire land that was then used for real estate and speculative purposes.""


Who the F#@K is this Lawrence liang? Sounds like Chinki-Commi name.

thats quite a racist post

Don't forget to add Nilopat Basu. He will do to Mumbai and Delhi Airports what the left has done to WB and Kerala.

Added later: He also plans to investigate the tenders awarded for BIAL. From the horse's mouth (http://pd.cpim.org/2005/1009/10092005_standing%20committee.htm)


And you guys will all sit quiet and let them do all of this? Where the heck is activism in India - judicial or otherwise? In the US such oppositions will become such a raging debate with the voters that Mr Gowda will sure be never elected again.

Where are the media and activist organizations? Why arent the corporate houses wideling enough power to scuttle bad government? At the least, they should take out a media campaign maligning Mr. Gowda and team for their foolish acts.

thats quite a racist post

BombayBoy, I never meant it to convey that message.

Problem with these civil right's activists is they are are almost always baised and partisan (pro-commi) and i strongly believe that the commies in india have their masters in Beijing.

thats all fine mk. but the word chinki is quite racist

Bombay Boy, to put it in perspective, Indian students in US are called PIGS - Poor Indian Guys by the Chinese and others. Its all relative man. What does Chinki mean anyway? Nothing derogatory I guess. Sorry for diversion, back to topic.

Bombay Boy, to put it in perspective, Indian students in US are called PIGS - Poor Indian Guys by the Chinese and others. Its all relative man. What does Chinki mean anyway? Nothing derogatory I guess. Sorry for diversion, back to topic.

calling somebody as commie is fine, i guess its the price USSR paid for losing the Cold war, but definitely not the other word. Not cool.

and i never heard the term PIGS in all my 5 years of college here.

To some it may sound derogatory. I accept it and would probably never use it here. To my knowledge, it is a very commonly used word. For e.g. in Singapore, people call the caucasians(whites) as ANG MOH's like in India FIRANG, GORA etc. It is even used by the press in Singapore.

Sorry for taking the topic away. We should go back to the main topic.

Western express hwy, Mumbai

http://img354.imageshack.us/img354/6291/getimage2lt.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Palm Beach Marg (Navi Mumbai) Pano - by KapilB
[use the scroll bar]

http://img468.imageshack.us/img468/7990/palmbeachmargpano2xd.jpg

thats a nice pano:)

thats a nice pano:)

I concur, Doc. Thats a beautiful pano.


by the way, is that biker riding in the wrong direction or its just me?

that is really nice. which camera did he use? good stitching

Sun.................wow!! thats all I have to say. That palm beach expressway is awesome. :cheers:

cncity..............nice image of WEH. :)

Four NHDP phases still on paper (http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=108090)

The proposed phases IV, V, VI and VII of the National Highway Development Programme (NHDP) are to be submitted to the public investment board (PIB) soon.

Considering the fact that the official deadline of NHDP’s completion is 2012, the ministry is already late in sending these phases to the PIB for clearance. This would leave it with only seven years to complete the entire project.

Minister for roads, highways and shipping, TR Baalu had in fact announced these phases as part of the policy initiatives of his ministry in April this year. Since then it has been more than seven months, and these phases are still on paper.

Out of the total length of 65,569 km of national highways in India, phases I to III of NHDP cover 24,000 km. Under phase IV, the government aims to give emphasis on improving the condition of the remaining length, by taking up to 20,000 km of the remaining national highways, for two-laning with paved shoulders. Phase IV is proposed to be implemented on annuity basis.

Phase V is for widening of 5,000 km of national highways for six laning on BOT basis. These would include sections with high density of traffic or corridors which are significant from tourism or economic point of view.

Under phase VI, the government proposes to take up about 1,000 km of length for construction of expressways, connecting important commercial and industrial townships.

The road may soon open up for NHAI (http://www.business-standard.com/common/storypage.php?hpFlag=Y&chklogin=N&autono=205841&leftnm=lmnu2&leftindx=2&lselect=0)

An inter-ministerial group on roads is considering a proposal to grant the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) a freer hand in decision-making and more autonomy vis-a-vis the ministry of road transport and highways in clearance of projects.

A report on the NHAI’s restructuring, co-authored by G Raguraman, an Indian institute of management professor, and Bhanu Mehrotra of the Planning Commission, has recommended that the NHAI should have full autonomy to clear government-funded projects with a cost up to Rs 200 crore and public private partnership projects worth up to Rs 500 crore.

As part of the restructuring, the NHAI should have separate departments for land acquisition, legal affairs and safety. In addition, there should be five members, handling finance, technical services and traffic planning, EPC & operation and management and public private partnership projects.

The report also proposed that the land acquisition office should be required by law to publish quarterly reports on progress on its work and problems faced.

For better co-ordination, the NHAI should have six regional offices, for the north, south, east, west, central and north-east regions, the report recommended.

Chandigarh to Shimla in two hours (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1298307.cms)

It will take less than two hours to drive from Shimla to Chandigarh, thanks to a new four-lane highway that is being planned.

But an earlier proposal to make it an express highway has been given up in order to cut costs.

The Himachal Pradesh government wanted an express highway to connect the 120 km distance between Chandigarh and Shimla. But, according to experts, the building of an express highway would almost double the cost of the already expensive mountain road plan to around Rs.14 billion.

An express highway has no detours whereas a national highway can have diversions. An express highway can be a state or central government project, but a national highway is always a central government project...

..."Now the highway will have four lanes.

The new highway will bypass the crowded towns of Kalka and Pinjore, which are often plagued by traffic jams. There will be nine tunnels.

^ thats good news.

LINK ROADS HIT FAST TRACK

With Slum Rehab No Longer A Roadblock,A Double-Decker Bridge And A Six-Lane Road Are Hurtling Towards Completion

Santacruz-Chembur Project

By Ashley D’Mello/TNN
Mumbai: The 6.5-km Santacruz-Chembur Link Road (SCLR), aimed at speeding up traffic between the eastern and western suburbs, is expected to be ready by mid-2007. A 1.4-km-long doubledecker bridge straddling Kurla and Chembur will be the showpiece of the project.
To be built at a cost of Rs 80 crore, the bridge will be the first of its kind with separate levels for heavy and light vehicles, and will be built as per international specifications. While trucks and buses will be allowed to ply on one level of the flyover, smaller vehicles like cars and autorickshaws, will move up on a higher level.
Engineers at the site said the bridge, to begin from a point behind the Gandhinagar slums, will be six storeys high at its highest point and will cross the Kurla railway terminus. “Work has already started at the site and it should be ready by mid-2007,’’ they said.
The Rs 120-crore SCLR will form an important link to enhance traffic dispersal from the Bandra Kurla CBD areas and help in the decongestion of Sion, Kurla and Chembur.
The work on the link road has been divided into two parts, with the first three km from Santacruz to Mithi River being undertaken by the Mumbai Urban Infrastructure Project (MUIP) and the rest of the 3.5 km upto Chembur being undertaken by the Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP). The first part will also have a 527-metre flyover on the Lal Bahadur Shastri Marg.
MSRDC engineers said, “The main hurdle we faced was the resettling of thousands of encroachers. Also as 50% of the work being done is underground, we had to ensure that utilities are not affected by the massive digging and building work in progress,’’ they said. For instance, they pointed out that at a railway crossing in Kurla, the underground drainage had to be diverted at a cost of Rs 3 crore before the road work began.
Engineers on the site also pointed towards the spots where drains, clogged for years due to encroachments, are being cleaned. Almost 50% of the project work is complete, they said.

The Length


The 6.5-km road will speed up traffic between the eastern and the western suburbs. A 1.4-km two-tiered bridge straddling Kurla and Chembur will be the show-piece

The Cost


To be built at a cost of Rs 120 crore, the bridge will be the first of its kind with separate levels for heavy and light vehicles and will be built according to international standards

Time Factor


While the project will be completed by mid-2007, the bridge to begin from a point behind the Gandhinagar slums will be six storeys high at its highest point

Other Features


A 527-metre flyover on the Lal Bahadur Shastri (LBS) Marg will also be part of the project. Almost half of the project includes
underground work

http://img53.imageshack.us/img53/695/25hx.jpg
The SCLR will help decongestion of Sion and Kurla too

http://img53.imageshack.us/img53/2852/36or.jpg
The proposed two-tiered bridge that will connect Kurla and Chembur


Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Project


Mumbai: Commuters travelling from the eastern suburbs of the city to the western side will have to wait till April next year before they can use the 10.8-km-long, six-lane Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Link Road (JVLR). The road, which promises to cut travel time from an hour to almost 15 minutes, exists as a two-lane stretch in parts as of now.
Civil engineers are trying to speed up construction on the 30-metre corridor knowing they are already seven months late. Executive engineer of the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC), A R Pampanwar said the main work on the Rs 119.39-crore project is complete. MSRDC is the implementing agency for the plan under the Mumbai Urban Transport Project.
The road will have two flyovers en route. There is also talk of a dedicated bus lane on the corridor to ensure that public transport goes at a faster pace than the normal traffic.
While admitting that the project is running late, Pampanwar points out the enormous difficulties encountered on the route. The main issue was the rehabilitation of thousands of families of hutment dwellers on the route. Another problem was ensuring the utilities — power, water, phone, and sewerage — were not disrupted. “This is a more tedious process than appears to be,’’ said Pampanwar. Thousands of water connections had to be taken care off.
Other engineers on the site talked of the problems with keeping the utilities intact and facing the wrath of irate citizens who had to have their water and power connections temporarily disconnected while the construction work was in progress.
Pampanwar said another problem encountered was the soft clay soil on a stretch of the link road. Special attention had to be paid for stronger foundations on the km-long stretch.

The Length


The 10.8-km-long road will cut travel time from an hour to almost 15 minutes. Currently, exists as a two-lane stretch

The Cost


According to a MSRDC official, main work on the
Rs 119.39-crore
project is complete.

Time Factor

Comuters will have to wail till April 2006 before they can use the road

http://img53.imageshack.us/img53/2836/49sv.jpg

http://img53.imageshack.us/img53/3366/59sx.jpg
The JVLR will have two flyovers enroute and may also have a dedicated bus lane

With Slum Rehab No Longer A Roadblock

Re: Bombay Boy's article

Sorry i missed the memo. So how is slum rehab no longer a roadblock?

Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Project

Believe it or not, the work on this piece of sh!t started in 2000. By mid-2001 it was taking a heavy toll on the traffic. You need half an hour to just cross this junction. Mumbaikars bore the brunt for 5 years .. its really amazing what you can get away with in India. Good news is the flyovers at Gandhinagar and L&T Powai works are done. That flyover pic must be outdated. Our beloved Unity Infrastructure is in charge of concretising the remaining 4 odd kms. IIT Mumbai and the attached colony and shops are the main bottlenecks but the shops have agreed to move into a mall in Hiranandani. Powai lake will have a water front promenade and there will be some beautification of the area, wide sidewalks and roadside trees as well. Any idea if these Unity buggers are known to complete projects on time?

Hi Guys ..

Does anyone know if there's a Pune Hyderabad highway ? If it is what condition is it in ?

Regards,

K

Hi Guys ..

Does anyone know if there's a Pune Hyderabad highway ? If it is what condition is it in ?

Regards,

K

NH9 Pune - Sholapur - Hyderabad (and on to Vijayawada)

Dunno the condition

But check this out (dated 25th October)

http://www.royalenfield.com/app/IN/trip.asp?sID=9446

maybe you can contact this person and find out more.

:)

It's official...

Delhi-Mumbai section of Golden Quadrilateral complete

http://www.newkerala.com/news.php?action=fullnews&id=59188

The government today announced that the Delhi-Mumbai highway section of the Golden Quadrilateral was complete.

''The Delhi-Mumbai stretch has been completed the day before yesterday,'' Minister for Shipping, Road, Transport and Highways T R Baalu told the Rajya Sabha during the Question Hour.

He said so far a total of 5,008 km of the Golden Quadrilateral network had been constructed, with the Delhi-Chennai and the Kolkata-Chennai sections in advanced stages of completion.

^^ Finally :cheers:.

Hey those NHAI guys have updated their website. Its better than the earlier one. Altho no new photus :(.

Here it is

http://nhai.org/images/june/nh8_m.png

^^ Finally :cheers:.
Altho no new photus :(.


Hey, we have more photos than NHAI!!!

:)

Time for someone to ride all the way, trying to find out how fast the whole distance can be covered. Goal: 15 hrs :)

that is a good target time.

A very nice article in the NY Times written by Amy Waldman - A must read

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/04/international/asia/04highway.html?pagewanted=all


JAGDISHRAI, India - In the middle of the old Grand Trunk Road a temple sits under a peepul tree. The surrounding highway is being widened to four lanes, and vehicles barrel along either side. But the temple and tree thwart even greater speed, and a passing contractor says they soon will be removed.

Enlarge This Image

Tyler Hicks/The New York Times
A woman crossing a stretch of India's improved national highway system in a village in the northern state of Rajasthan.
India Accelerating
Articles in this series are examining India's highway modernization, a vast undertaking reflecting the country's overall transformation.
Kali, Hindu goddess of destruction, thinks otherwise. She is angry, say the colorfully garbed women massing under the holy tree's dappled shade. As evidence, they point to one woman's newly pockmarked face and other mysterious ailments recently visited on their nearby village. They have tried to convince Kali that the tree and temple devoted to her must go, but they have failed. Now they have no choice but to oppose the removal, too, even if they must block the road to do it.

Goddess versus man, superstition versus progress, the people versus the state - mile by mile, India is struggling to modernize its national highway system, and in the process, itself.

The Indian government has begun a 15-year project to widen and pave some 40,000 miles of narrow, decrepit national highways, with the first leg, budgeted at $6.25 billion, to be largely complete by next year. It amounts to the most ambitious infrastructure project since independence in 1947 and the British building of the subcontinent's railway network the century before.

The effort echoes the United States' construction of its national highway system in the 1920's and 1950's. The arteries paved across America fueled commerce and development, fed a nation's auto obsession and created suburbs. They also displaced communities and helped sap mass transit and deplete inner cities.

For India, already one of the world's fastest-growing economies and most rapidly evolving societies, the results may be as radical. At its heart, the redone highway is about grafting Western notions of speed and efficiency onto a civilization that has always taken the long view.

Aryan migration, Mogul conquest, British colonialism - all shaped India's civilization over centuries. Now, in a span of less than 15 years, capitalism and globalization have convulsed India at an unprecedented rate of change.

....Go to NY times to read more.

NH9 Pune - Sholapur - Hyderabad (and on to Vijayawada)

Dunno the condition

But check this out (dated 25th October)

http://www.royalenfield.com/app/IN/trip.asp?sID=9446

maybe you can contact this person and find out more.

:)

One year back the condition was decent. My friend had driven his car from Hyderabad to Pune when I was staying in Pune. Part of the road was 4-lane and part was 2-lane, and he had seen some construction activity going on (hopefully that would mean more of 4-lanes as of now). It ought to take around 12 hours or so. The distance is ~550 km.

Sorry for the very late update though :(

Google Earth might help also...

in the long run is it really worth having all those gardens and tress in between the lanes in the highway ? Who is going to water them.. and who isgoing to remove the wreck once strong wind or a cyclone hits, or who is going to shoo the goats that might stray across the highway to feed on the grass between the lanes?
Apart form aesthetics, I dont see them serving anypurpose. However if absorbing fumes in an issue.. more trees could be planted on the sides though.. but not in between the lanes !

in the long run is it really worth having all those gardens and tress in between the lanes in the highway ? Who is going to water them.. and who isgoing to remove the wreck once strong wind or a cyclone hits, or who is going to shoo the goats that might stray across the highway to feed on the grass between the lanes?
Apart form aesthetics, I dont see them serving anypurpose. However if absorbing fumes in an issue.. more trees could be planted on the sides though.. but not in between the lanes !

Trees, Plants, Bushes on the divider prevents glaring of lights from oncoming vehicles at night. If the right kind of trees are selected, the ones which dont need too much water like the Eucalyptus (bad for the soil though), I think it is good for the environment.

Trees, Plants, Bushes on the divider prevents glaring of lights from oncoming vehicles at night. If the right kind of trees are selected, the ones which dont need too much water like the Eucalyptus (bad for the soil though), I think it is good for the environment.

You can also use 'Jersey Dividers' for this purpose. These slipformed dividers are not as pretty as trees and grass but just as, actually more, effective in blocking oncoming headlights. They also do a great job of keeping accidents on one side of the road due to their shape.

Buddy Fusionist,

I will second Aryabhatta!!! in stating that having bushes (of at least 3-4 feet in height) on the dividers cut out night glare from oncoming traffic.

It certainly puts a better aesthetics to driving in daytime and puts away the monotony of an otherwise barren sun-baked topography.

As for your questions - there is one answer and I will make this brief. If done and perceived in teh right direction, it will give employment to people from the rural areas (where most of the expressways pass through). Employment from HIGHWAY MAINTENANCE & HIGHWAY BEAUTIFICATION has a lot of potential - in fact, it can be an institution in itself if done right!!! One just has to look at our non-SAARC neighbours and see how they have kept highway's beautified plus kept rural areas employed.

As for goats & cattle, there is no 100% fool-proof way of keeping any living thing off the roads - be they Expressways or the otherwise shoddy 'highways' of yesteryears. Even in a place like Canada / US, there are collisions with wildlife but there's nothing much one can do about it.

Expressway Greenery is much needed in India - especially in dry / barren topographies. The field of Expressway Horticulture is in fact, a very academically studied stream and there are special courses on these taught in many universities in the west. The closest we (in India) have something akin to this is "LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE".. but doesn't come any close to ROADWAY HORTICULTURE.

Cheers
p2p4


in the long run is it really worth having all those gardens and tress in between the lanes in the highway ? Who is going to water them.. and who isgoing to remove the wreck once strong wind or a cyclone hits, or who is going to shoo the goats that might stray across the highway to feed on the grass between the lanes?
Apart form aesthetics, I dont see them serving anypurpose. However if absorbing fumes in an issue.. more trees could be planted on the sides though.. but not in between the lanes !

Centre releases Rs 147 cr for Expressway (http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1313779.cms)

The Central Government has released Rs 147 crore to acquire land for the construction of Western Peripheral Expressway, also known as Kundli-Manesar- Palwal Expressway.

the Haryana Government also plans to develop a state-of-the-art global corridor along the Kundli-Manesar- Palwal Western Expressway in the National Capital Region passing through Haryana and encircling Delhi.

p2p4, to cut out glare most highways in any developed nation have that long metalic median at about the height of the beam . They not only cut out glare but also prevents accidents spilling on to the wrong side of oncoming trafic.

In what other developd countries do they actually plant trees ? I have never seen any in UK or France.
About highway lanscaping, trees can be planted on the sides. Roads in cities however benefit a lot by having trees inbetween the lanes.. as they are easeir to maintain and usually the pavemets are too narrow to accomodate tree pating in the sides.

Fusionist,

See my post above (#225). Steel guardrails are a rarity in the median these days and concrete "jersey dividers" or "jersey barriers" are used. These type are actually what prevents accidents, as you say, from spilling into the wrong side of oncoming traffic. They are also built taller than guardrail beams. Just google image search "jersey barrier" and you will see what they look like.

Also, grass/trees are planted in "developed" nations if the median between the two directions is very wide. The trees are mostly those that don't need to be watered on a regular basis and the grass is mostly weeds. The only care is to cut it. However, yes, typically it is just a concrete slab if it is a narrow median.

p2p4, to cut out glare most highways in any developed nation have that long metalic median at about the height of the beam . They not only cut out glare but also prevents accidents spilling on to the wrong side of oncoming trafic.

In what other developd countries do they actually plant trees ? I have never seen any in UK or France.
About highway lanscaping, trees can be planted on the sides. Roads in cities however benefit a lot by having trees inbetween the lanes.. as they are easeir to maintain and usually the pavemets are too narrow to accomodate tree pating in the sides.

Vishal used the Right to Information Act and has a detailed report
It is very interesting.

http://vishallucknow.blogspot.com/

http://img384.imageshack.us/img384/1638/imageloader2yk.jpg

Caption: Two-wheeler riders have started using the Road Over Bridge at the MIT Gate, Chromepet in suburban Chennai, where final touches are being given. Photo: A. Muralitharan, 10/12/2005.

Vishal used the Right to Information Act and has a detailed report
It is very interesting.

http://vishallucknow.blogspot.com/

thats a intresting site sun,good find:)

Norms laid for road contracts, more debate on toll policy (http://www.business-standard.com/common/storypage.php?storyflag=y&leftnm=lmnu2&leftindx=2&lselect=1&chklogin=N&autono=208309)

Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia today released the model concession agreement (MCA) that would govern all future build-operate-and-transfer (BOT) road contracts awarded by the National Highway Authority of India.

The MCA provides for phased development of roads, where the contract to operate roads ceases when full capacity of highways is achieved.

It specifies further widening should be taken up, depending on traffic projections and recommends that the second phase for six or eight laning is executed after seven-12 years.

The model agreement also provides for the NHAI handing over possession of at least 80 per cent of land and obtaining environmental clearances before financial closure of the project. It also exempts the local population from paying toll for the use of the roads, until free service lanes are constructed. Frequent users may be allowed discounts.

The new concession agreement also says that the financial closure has to be achieved within 180 days. This time frame can be extended by 120 days upon payment of penalty.

Thats a good news..!! Now they should strictly make norms for making the roads also... with how much width of pedestrian, whats its height.. how it will come to slope on the crossings.. whats will be the inclination of roads at edges..

i am in china and i have seen many roads making.. the first thing they do is create the proper Drainage.. and then over it they make the road, but before putting the aspalt, they clearly make the pedestrian... see that it seemingly integrate with other pedestrian which already exists.. and then they do the aspalt lying process....

Actually, the people will use the pedestrian when they know that this pedestrain will take them where they want to go.. but in india, people dont use it because it take them nowhere...

They should print it and send to all the people who is incharge of building the roads... so they know froom the begining, wtaht should be taken care of...

Hope it will happen...

HI Fusionist

If you consider Singapore / China / Malaysia & Taiwan as developed, I weigh my previous comments on these examples. Another contributor to this forum D_rk (who is in China now) will also - hopefuly - contribute to this discussion.

Regds
p2p4

Fusionist,

See my post above (#225). Steel guardrails are a rarity in the median these days and concrete "jersey dividers" or "jersey barriers" are used. These type are actually what prevents accidents, as you say, from spilling into the wrong side of oncoming traffic. They are also built taller than guardrail beams. Just google image search "jersey barrier" and you will see what they look like.

Also, grass/trees are planted in "developed" nations if the median between the two directions is very wide. The trees are mostly those that don't need to be watered on a regular basis and the grass is mostly weeds. The only care is to cut it. However, yes, typically it is just a concrete slab if it is a narrow median.

Vishal used the Right to Information Act and has a detailed report
It is very interesting.

http://vishallucknow.blogspot.com/

Thats an amazing story. I wish there are more and more people like Vishal.

Malaysian Government proposal to invest in freeways in India

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1329419.cms

'Malaysia ready to invest $ 2-3 billion in India'
[ Tuesday, December 13, 2005 10:01:45 amIANS ]

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia is prepared to invest $2-3 billion in developing India's road and other infrastructure if New Delhi agrees to its proposal to build about 3,000 km of freeways and highways connecting major cities, Works Minister S Samy Vellu said.

Vellu, a minister for 26 years - something of a record - and the seniormost representative of the Malaysian Indian community in the government, said 70 percent of the investment could come from Kazana, the government's investing arm that would then open an office in India, while the remaining could come from the Indian government and from toll collection.

"It will be an invest, build, operate and transfer project worth about 8-10 billion ringgits ($2-3 billion), the like of which no country has proposed before," Vellu told IANS in an interview shortly before he made a presentation to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Vellu said the clearance of such a network of freeways - between Delhi and Kolkata, one connecting Chenna-Kochi-Bangalore and between Mumbai and Bhopal - would open up the floodgates of investment and development and accelerate economic growth in the areas around it.

He said he had first made the proposal to late prime minister P.V. Narasimha Rao when he came here in the early 1990s, but "India was not then ready for such freeways".

But it is a changed India now, Vellu said, and he hoped the present Congress-led coalition government would clear it expeditiously to build on the rapidly growing political and economic relationship between the countries.

Among the other mega projects that Malaysian companies were doing in India were an 300-million ringgit ($80-million) conference centre in the heart of the Indian capital for which it has a signed a deal with the New Delhi Municipal Council. The project would include the eventual construction of the tallest building in the capital as well.

Vellu, whose highly proactive ministry is pushing similar infrastructure projects in countries as far apart as Bosnia and Syria, said Malaysian companies were now involved in roads, ports, power and housing projects in India.

He said Malaysia had tremendous expertise in prefab housing and wanted to build them for lower and middle income housing societies in India. Such projects, he said, were handled through the government's Construction Industrial Development Board (CIDB), whose expertise was provided to Indian contractors to finally execute the projects.

"So we have Indian projects being executed by Indians but with Malaysian expertise and knowhow," Vellu remarked, demonstrating his familiarity with the Indian system and his uncanny insight into the Indian business psyche.

Vellu, who Manmohan Singh later described as a "great friend of India", said Malaysian companies had a very good experience in India and found Indians to be among the world's "best paymasters".

^^

This si great news, but IMO it's a bit disturbing that the nation's own construction companies aren't getting a larger share of this proposal. I mean, GVK is fully capable of doing things on or ahead of schedule (look at the Jaipur-Kishangarh expressway!).

There's nothing wrong with learning from others, but overdoing this Malaysia buisiness is a bit, ah, conetious. Maybe they could give the Malaysians 49% and give a bit of the construction stuff to GVK, GMR, L&T, etc. through a JV.

Malaysian Government proposal to invest in freeways in India

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1329419.cms

Is this Delhi-Calcutta expressway in addition to the GQ highway ?

Centre paves way for reforms in infrastructure development (http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1339474.cms)

To pave the way for Posco and other steel sector investments in Orissa, the Centre plans to push all major national highway projects of the state into the ongoing NHDP III A phase — through a special order with approval from the Cabinet where required.

detailed project reports (DPR) are already underway for the four-laning of Chandikhol-Duburi road and the Keonjhar-Panikoili road. The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) has been advised to start work on the DPR to four-lane the Duburi-Talcher road as well. This 99 km stretch on NH 200 will transport coal from mines in Talcher both to the coal belt and the steel belt as well as to establish a direct link from the coal belt to the Paradip port and its hinterland is required to link the coal and steel belt as well as the coal belt and the Paradip port hinterland.

Meanwhile, four-laning of the Rs 325 crore Chandikhol-Paradeep road (NH-5A for port connectivity) which had already begun in ’04 is expected to be complete by June ’07.

Similarly, the NHAI has already started work on a DPR to cover 249 km of NH 215 between Panikoili and Roxy on the Keonjhar-Panikoili stretch.

Four-laning of two state highway stretches between Duburi-Brahmanipal-Harichandanpur-Naranpur-Keonjhar and Cuttack-Paradeep road are also on the fast track.

6 lane highway in Vizag


http://img492.imageshack.us/img492/4024/75503866edb6d91164od3sl.jpg

It aint a real highway if people are walking all over it. God protect any driver
on the road who hits somebody just loafing. The govt should do something
about that... for everybody's safety.

It aint a real highway if people are walking all over it. God protect any driver
on the road who hits somebody just loafing. The govt should do something
about that... for everybody's safety.

Many people on Indian roads think that they have all been granted nine lives by the almighty. :)

In the Indian context - a highway is not a highway unless you have people running and walking across them, sitting in the medians and watching traffic, cows, goats, pigs and the occasional elephants and camels roaming freely, vehicles coming at full speed from the wrong direction, drivers not following lanes...the list is endless.

And of course shabbily written signs (by local admins)- if you notice the picture closely, you have a funny Go Slow sign!

It aint a real highway if people are walking all over it. God protect any driver
on the road who hits somebody just loafing. The govt should do something
about that... for everybody's safety.

Here's a thought: why not build a few pedestrian overbridges, between buildings? There's your solution.

Here's a thought: why not build a few pedestrian overbridges, between buildings? There's your solution.


Yeah? Good solution. Except only like 3 people will use it. And what about the cattle? ARe they supposed to use the the overbridges too? that really irratates me, they should build fences around the highway or something.

Yeah? Good solution. Except only like 3 people will use it. And what about the cattle? ARe they supposed to use the the overbridges too? that really irratates me, they should build fences around the highway or something.

I agree, fencing is another essential bit. And as for cows, maybe farmers should simply restrict them to their fields. That's how they handle them everywhere else (and avoid loosing cows to traffic accidents).

In rural areas, cattle overpasses are a potential requirement in cases where a national highway passes through someone's field or a village.

And people will use foot overpasses if they are present, it's just that it will take a little time for it to catch on (but it can only catch on if the necessary infrastructure is present).

ur right abt people eventually using the overpasses, but that will only happen once they are built and a good few people have been still been killed, not injured, but killed in road accidents for not using them. ONLY then will people start using the overpasses. such is the mentality of the avg indian. its sad.

Its really sad state of affair.... We use the roads, because it take us where we want to go.. and when we are walking, if a pedestrian way also take where we want to go without distrupting the traffic.. then people will use it.. but its sad that they dont take us anywhere.... its just drop us in the middle and disappear..

i will post later how the pedestrian way is made and designed in Shenzhen, china. where i live now..

Hope some official see that get some hard regulations made for it.. Hope.

Raj

I agree, fencing is another essential bit. And as for cows, maybe farmers should simply restrict them to their fields. That's how they handle them everywhere else (and avoid loosing cows to traffic accidents).

In rural areas, cattle overpasses are a potential requirement in cases where a national highway passes through someone's field or a village.

And people will use foot overpasses if they are present, it's just that it will take a little time for it to catch on (but it can only catch on if the necessary infrastructure is present).
You are right. fencing is done all over the world whereever there is fast moving traffic.The public is aware of the danger that would befall them if they venture into the expressway on foot. This is primarily because of education. In India the public is not educated about the perils of jaywalking. How many schools have traffic education in their curriculum or how many parents teach their children how to follow traffic rules. If India has to change it has to be done through educating the public. contruction of overpasses alone will not help. Hope you all agree with me

You are right. fencing is done all over the world whereever there is fast moving traffic.The public is aware of the danger that would befall them if they venture into the expressway on foot. This is primarily because of education. In India the public is not educated about the perils of jaywalking. How many schools have traffic education in their curriculum or how many parents teach their children how to follow traffic rules. If India has to change it has to be done through educating the public. contruction of overpasses alone will not help. Hope you all agree with me


The basic reason (why pedestrians and cyclists are seen on Indian highways) is that in most cases the highways pass right through the middle of the cities and towns. There are streets and residential places spread on either sides of the highway. In many cases, the city has grown/grows along the highway.


Fencing is not a solution to stop people from getting on to the existing roads. Why?

Firstly - One cannot guarantee that people will jump over them/break through them and cross the road.

Secondly - when there are many bylanes particularly if the city is developed along the highway, one cannot keep on building overpass bridges every few hundred metres for people to commute on either side of the highway. What if a heavy vehicle wants to go to the other side of the highway.



A more plausible solution is to construct the highways away from the city traffic. If a road passes through cities A, B and C in that order. And if a person wants to travel from city A to city C, why the heck does he need to pass through the city traffic in City B.
In developed countries, there are entry and exit points to the highways only through which the traffic can enter them. You cannot see bylanes just jutting out of residential areas onto the highway as in India.

Highways should touch the periphery of the cities and not pass through them. A good highway always keeps itself aloof from the main city traffic.


Why blame the people when the roads are planned in that way.

The basic reason (why pedestrians and cyclists are seen on Indian highways) is that in most cases the highways pass right through the middle of the cities and towns. There are streets and residential places spread on either sides of the highway. In many cases, the city has grown/grows along the highway.


Fencing is not a solution to stop people from getting on to the existing roads. Why?

Firstly - One cannot guarantee that people will jump over them/break through them and cross the road.

Secondly - when there are many bylanes particularly if the city is developed along the highway, one cannot keep on building overpass bridges every few hundred metres for people to commute on either side of the highway. What if a heavy vehicle wants to go to the other side of the highway.



A more plausible solution is to construct the highways away from the city traffic. If a road passes through cities A, B and C in that order. And if a person wants to travel from city A to city C, why the heck does he need to pass through the city traffic in City B.
In developed countries, there are entry and exit points to the highways only through which the traffic can enter them. You cannot see bylanes just jutting out of residential areas onto the highway as in India.

Highways should touch the periphery of the cities and not pass through them. A good highway always keeps itself aloof from the main city traffic.


Why blame the people when the roads are planned in that way.
I agree with you. But we should remember that the population and cattle density in India is very high. Even after the highways are constructed to bypass the city it encounters the same problems. A novel and comprehensive plan should be drawn and executed to alleviate the situation. This is true in case of Ring roads constructed in chennai. The Outer ring road was planned to bypass the city but it is not a complete success as the city has burgeoned beyond that.Anyway the situation will ameliorate only with planning and educating the public to abide by it.

Nightshot of Chennai bypass. :)
http://img490.imageshack.us/img490/7924/nhaichennai29hr.jpg


Bangalore-Chennai area near Devanahalli
http://img490.imageshack.us/img490/1719/nhai15hx.jpg

http://img490.imageshack.us/img490/3376/nhai26bh.jpg

Near Chennai
http://img490.imageshack.us/img490/3747/nhai34ow.jpg

Near Bangalore
http://img490.imageshack.us/img490/3166/nhai40nv.jpg

Near Chennai
http://img490.imageshack.us/img490/9716/nhai53qd.jpg

Bangalore hoser section
http://img490.imageshack.us/img490/326/nhai60xq.jpg

Vizag-Bhuvaneshwar section
http://img490.imageshack.us/img490/9/nhaibhuvvizag8vj.jpg

Kanpur-Akbarpur Section
http://img490.imageshack.us/img490/2307/nhaikanpurakbarpur4ew.jpg

Lucknow section
http://img490.imageshack.us/img490/4338/nhailucknow9uu.jpg

Chennai bypass
http://img490.imageshack.us/img490/6844/nhaichennai9co.jpg

Hi guys

As i mentioned earlier in my post reg the footpaths and footpaths in the road crossings.. here is some of the images . how it is done in china.. It feel good when you walk on the footpath without any disturbance.. also see how the sloping is done where the people need to cross the road...

http://img362.imageshack.us/img362/654/img07133vu.jpg


In this image you can see on the top the road is new and each side the construction is going on.. the good this is that how they make the road with footpath and all.. It is standard here to make a road like this..
http://img482.imageshack.us/img482/8412/img07123en.jpg

http://img482.imageshack.us/img482/8869/img07056so.jpg

http://img482.imageshack.us/img482/9158/img07161si.jpg

http://img482.imageshack.us/img482/1949/img07159qc.jpg

http://img482.imageshack.us/img482/6066/img07141ig.jpg


In this image you can see on the right side of the cyclist. there is a way.. right under the bridge.. this is for pedestrian to go to the other side of the road..

http://img482.imageshack.us/img482/8923/img07172po.jpg

I will post more images to make it more clear..

Some more on the same lines...

http://img390.imageshack.us/img390/9963/img07449sf.jpg

http://img395.imageshack.us/img395/4166/img07411ig.jpg

http://img395.imageshack.us/img395/4923/img07408rh.jpg

http://img395.imageshack.us/img395/6334/img07391tg.jpg

http://img395.imageshack.us/img395/4377/img07384sc.jpg

http://img395.imageshack.us/img395/7193/img07370gt.jpg

here you can see how they are making a new road...
http://img395.imageshack.us/img395/9882/img07362cn.jpg

http://img395.imageshack.us/img395/3803/img07355hy.jpg

http://img392.imageshack.us/img392/5606/img07346py.jpg

http://img392.imageshack.us/img392/8971/img07335bs.jpg

Thats amazing.

Really that could easily be India. Especially in areas which are currently under development i.e. Bandra Kurla Complex, Gurgoan, Hi-tech City... amazing. Every detail is taken care of even for a sidewalk.

yes Ubmermensch.. Its not a Rocket Science.. just a simple guidelines which can be made standard and make sure the contractor know these guidelines.....

they are trying something like this in bombay, with most roads getting new pavements with paver blocks and pre-cast concrete skirters. but the problem is not the pavement itself here, its the encroachments. unless they are removed its of no use, people will still walk on the road due to no space on the pavement

on linking road bandra i have seen the slopes given, esp near house entrances, but nowhere else. they are not disabled friendly. frankly i dont see pavements like the ones above adopted on a consistent basis here for another decade or so. which is sad, as its quite easy to adopt. pavements are hugely ignored in india. most people are just enamoured with roads, flyovers, etc. even though good pavements and zero encroachments can make traffic flow in most cities much faster at a cheaper cost and with more benefits to human commerce and mobility

I only saw those tiles which guide the blind people at Delhi Metro. HAvent seen it anywhere else. India is a nighmare for handicapped ppl... Lots of new development areas like IT parks in blore, Kol, Gurgaon are connected with wide good roads for higher vehicular speed. However, there are hardly any sidewalks as nearly all the space is taken up for the roads.. I have felt this in Blore ITPL, gurgaon and now in kol Sector V. I wonder what are the things the planners have in mind when they design.. On the other end, country like Japan is doing tests for RFID which will guide the blind ppl, when to stop for traffic and when its safe to cross.

from http://epaperdaily.timesofindia.com

Six new expressway corridors identified

New Delhi: Planning a vacation to Agra or Jaipur? The ride just got smoother. The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) has identified six corridors for construction of expressways. These include Delhi-Chennai, Delhi-Meerut, Delhi-Agra, Delhi-Jaipur, Vadodara-Mumbai and Bangalore-Chennai.
These projects will be part of the National Highway Development Project (NHDP) Phase VI that envisages the construction of expressways of about 1,000 km connecting important commercial and industrial townships.

The estimated cost of the project is Rs 15,000 crore. The main feature of an expressway is the access control that will be maintained in these six corridors also. They will be designed for a maximum speed of 120 km.
Amongst the other projects that are currently under construction, the maximum progress has been seen in the Golden Quadrilateral (GQ), that connects Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai.
The GQ project has missed another deadline and this time the culprit is excessive rainfall.
The total length of the corridors is 5,846 km. About 88% of the work has been completed as of December 2005 as against 92% of the project. While 1,419 km of the Delhi-Mumbai corridor has been completed there are sections left in the Mumbai-Chennai, Chennai-Kolkata and Kolkata-Delhi sections. The latter is only 74% complete. Officials however estimate that the GQ project will be able to meet its deadline of 96% completion by June 2006.

from http://epaperdaily.timesofindia.com

. These include Delhi-Chennai, Delhi-Meerut, Delhi-Agra, Delhi-Jaipur, Vadodara-Mumbai and Bangalore-Chennai.


There is an error in this report. The first one is Delhi-Chandigarh, not Delhi-Chennai. And one more corridor, Kolkata-Dhanbad, is missing from the list. Besides the fact that I know this plan reasonably well, it can be confirmed from the fact that if the Delhi-Chennai expressway were included in this project, it could not possibly have a total project cost of only Rs. 15000 crores. It would be much higher. All the sections chosen are relatively short, but high-density sections.

As of now, only pre-feasibility studies have been ordered on these corridors. I am sure this plan will see a lot of modification before it is implemented.

they are trying something like this in bombay, with most roads getting new pavements with paver blocks and pre-cast concrete skirters. but the problem is not the pavement itself here, its the encroachments. unless they are removed its of no use, people will still walk on the road due to no space on the pavement

on linking road bandra i have seen the slopes given, esp near house entrances, but nowhere else. they are not disabled friendly. frankly i dont see pavements like the ones above adopted on a consistent basis here for another decade or so. which is sad, as its quite easy to adopt. pavements are hugely ignored in india. most people are just enamoured with roads, flyovers, etc. even though good pavements and zero encroachments can make traffic flow in most cities much faster at a cheaper cost and with more benefits to human commerce and mobility
even without encroachments the pavements are horrible...narrow, uneven, and dirty. those paver blocks are already sinking, and so much dust and debris.

pavements should be wide not just the road, plus fencing, trees and street furniture are so important. its so beautiful in chandigarh and its so easily accomplished....i agree though its hard to see that happening in bombay right now..

it's good that even expressways are now being planned. very good for fast mobility.

also, the highway from delhi to agra is in pretty good shape. we really don't need an expressway in this area. the highway is in good shape, clean, and traffic mobility is pretty good, unless the situation has changed in the last one year.

also, what is the maximum distance consideration for an expressway? 200 or 250 km.

and one more of my ideas: i think a hyderabad to warangal expressway should be planned. if that's percieved to be too costly or unnecessary, atleast something should be done to upgrade the current highway. it's not as wide as it's supposed to be. I'd say upgrade it to a 4-lane highway with shoulders on either side.

also, what is the maximum distance consideration for an expressway? 200 or 250 km.


An 'expressway' is simply a 4 lane (or wider) road w/o interesections (or very few) and the name shouldn't be limited to roads of a certain length. In theory an expressway could be 5 miles taking you from Point A to Point B by bypassing any intersections. However, the term is used loosely and its definition can change from one locale to the next.

For example, the BQE (Brooklyn-Queens Expressway) is only around 12 miles (~20km) long and the Atlantic City Expressway is around 45 miles (~70km) long.

1 pc of road cess to be earmarked for safety fund

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2005/12/31/stories/2005123102550700.htm

Hi Sridar..

Thanks for clarifying the Delhi - Chennai error. I was pretty shocked to see that entire stretch in there.

So far seems like they have selected a good bunch of corridors. Do u know if the existing highways on the GQ will be upgraded to be expressways, or are these entirely new routes?

Would be interesting to know coz when I was on the Delhi - Jaipur last year I noticed some establishments coming pretty close to the sides of the road and was concerned about expansion when and if it happens. Also the existing highways go through plenty villages, so I'm trying to figure out how they would tackle that.

Any thoughts?

Thanks

There is an error in this report. The first one is Delhi-Chandigarh, not Delhi-Chennai. And one more corridor, Kolkata-Dhanbad, is missing from the list. Besides the fact that I know this plan reasonably well, it can be confirmed from the fact that if the Delhi-Chennai expressway were included in this project, it could not possibly have a total project cost of only Rs. 15000 crores. It would be much higher. All the sections chosen are relatively short, but high-density sections.

As of now, only pre-feasibility studies have been ordered on these corridors. I am sure this plan will see a lot of modification before it is implemented.

Ubermensch:

It is still in pre-feasibility stage. They will figure out answers to the very questions you are asking during this process of feasibility studies. My personal feeling is that they should go for new alignments altogether (like the Mumbai Pune expressway). But let's see what NHAI decides.

In the movie they showed this really nice divided highway on the way to
Goa. Dos anyone know what road/expwy that was ?

DCH was made in 1999/2000. Long before the GQ project. I would have
posted video grabs but there's probably copyright issues involved.

Yes.. Part of the song was shot in Mumbai-Pune Expressway(MPE).. but i am not sure if it leads to Goa or not....but the tunnel part is surely MPE

Ubermensch:

It is still in pre-feasibility stage. They will figure out answers to the very questions you are asking during this process of feasibility studies. My personal feeling is that they should go for new alignments altogether (like the Mumbai Pune expressway). But let's see what NHAI decides.

Thanks Sridhar, I guess I was jumping the gun a bit but am happy to know that atleast I was asking the right questions.

Anyone know this? Is the Vadodara - Ahmedabad expressway on NH-8 or a seperate alignment?

Yes.. Part of the song was shot in Mumbai-Pune Expressway(MPE).. but i am not sure if it leads to Goa or not....but the tunnel part is surely MPE

Yes the road shown in the song is the Mumbai Pune expresway including the tunnel. but this road doesnt go towards goa..the expressway is connected to the golden quadrilateral road in pune which goes further south and exits for a separate 2 road towards goa.

IJM gets India road upgrading project

http://www.ijm.com/what_060105_ed.htm

For the GQ and the NS-EW Corridor, is there standardised signage specifications ? Or is a free for everyone, with each contractor deciding how to put in signages ?

My observation has been that there are guidelines and i do see consistency in signage and markings.

At every phase it is getting better, but based on what i saw on NH-9, its very consistent on signage, markings, crossings.

I searched thru the NHAI website (www.nhai.org), but could not find any document detailing the guidelines..

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/13/National_highway_network_map.png (http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:National_highway_network_map.png)
Drwn using illustrator, i just love this program :D

Did anyone visit the "Destination India" exhibition organised by the Union ministry in Chennai? i was there a couple of days back and the main attraction was the NHAI stall, two huge plasma screens showing video clips and a lot of great photos of the Indian highways. they even had a huge scale model of the kathipara cloverleaf and the padi junction flyover :drool:
also saw tr baalu talking some political nonesense about his constituency.
Imagine my luck, my camara crapped out just as i got there, the shutter wouldnt open :cry:

Good work, but what happened to Kashmir ? :mad:

what happened? there is a road to srinagar as well

what happened? there is a road to srinagar as well

Well, almost the entire part of Arunachal Prasesh and Parts of J&K is greyed out. Guess where PlaneMad got the base map was not from an Indian source ;)

Come 2012, drive A'bad to Mumbai in 5 hrs (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1366534.cms)

For an Amdavadi it would be nothing less than a dream if he could reach Mumbai in a matter of five hours by road.

The same would hold true for a Barodian who can do it in four hours and it will be euphoria for Surtis to reach Mumbai in barely two hours.

It will be a dream come true for all of them with National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) giving shape to an expressway between Vadodara-Mumbai.

As a first step, NHAI has invited bids for consultancy services for preparation of feasibilitycum-preliminary design report. The 400-km project would be covered under phase VI of NHDP.

NHAI general manager SK Gupta said the firm awarded contract for study would be given one year's time. He said the work was likely to begin within 24 months and would be completed by 2012.

He said the existing Ahmedabad - Vadodara expressway would be linked to the proposed project.
Officials said that the expressway will be designed for a maximum speed of 120 km per hour. The wayside amenities will be set up at approximately 50 km interval along the expressway.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/13/National_highway_network_map.png (http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:National_highway_network_map.png)
Drwn using illustrator, i just love this program :D

That's really cool!

Kolkata has a port too (although Haldia/Kolkata are part of KPT). Kharagpur is the popular spelling. Also not sure but I think they built a bypass/(existing SH) from outskirts of Khargapur directly to NH5 as part of the GQ bypassing Jharkhand. Haldia is connected at Kolaghat which is between Kolkata and Kharagpur.

Thanks Sridhar, I guess I was jumping the gun a bit but am happy to know that atleast I was asking the right questions.

Anyone know this? Is the Vadodara - Ahmedabad expressway on NH-8 or a seperate alignment?

It is not on NH8, but on separate alignment. It does run parallel to it though on some occations. It is connected to NH8 near 1)Baroda, 2)Nadiad 3)Anand and ofcourse 4)Ahmedabad

It is not on NH8, but on separate alignment. It does run parallel to it though on some occations. It is connected to NH8 near 1)Baroda, 2)Nadiad 3)Anand and ofcourse 4)Ahmedabad

Ahh thanks! - On another note I hope the Mumbai - Ahmedabad expressway is simply a continuation of the Ahmedabad - Vadodara expressway i.e. Ahmedabad to Vadodara + Vadodara to Mumbai. It would be a shame if you had to keep taking exits to move from expressway to expressway. Imagine with the Jaipur - Delhi expressway, the only piece left would be Ahmedabad - Jaipur and we would have a Mumbai - Delhi expressway!!

or delhi-pune if you are so inclined

Great map of the road network. Now the capillaries are the only ones left to be built in due course to NHAI standards.

The west coast will need a full fledged expressway. Even in the early 80's there was enough road traffic from Mangalore to Mumbai. Goa is also right in the middle to give enough of push for the tourist circuit.

Mangalore to Trivandrum expressway will also make perfect sense at some point in the near future, with so many towns alongside the current NH17 alignment.

Excellent map again, planemad. I have not really been getting the time to participate on the forum as extensively as in the past. But I will take a detailed look at it whenever I get a chance and see if I have any suggestions.

thats an excellent effort planemad.

meanwhile...

Major private drive into roads by 2012 (http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=114236)

The government is going to hand over the lion’s share of its road projects with aggregate investment of Rs 1,50,000 crore to private players by 2012.

“The government is looking forward to expanding the role of the private sector in future road projects. Of the estimated Rs 1,85,000 crore to be invested in road projects by the year 2012, around 80% will have to be executed by private firms,” advisor to the Planning Commission deputy chairman Gajendra Haldea said at an Assocham conference on highways here on Wednesday.

He added that the government’s role would be more like that of an enabler. Besides the large investment proposals for the road sector, over Rs 60,000 crore is to be invested in port building and Rs 40,000 crore in airport projects.

Earlier, chief general manager National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) Atul Kumar said government had revised future road project investments from Rs 1,72,000 crore to Rs 1,85,873 crore.

Giving a breakup of future road projects, Mr Kumar said the government proposed to seek investment of Rs 42,000 cr in balance work in national highway development programme (NHDP) phases I and II and Rs 55,000 crore in NHDP III, Rs 25,000 crore in NHDP IV, Rs 40,250 crore in NHDP-V, Rs 15,000 in NHDP VI, Rs 15,000 in NHDP-VII and Rs 14,623 crore in special accelerated road development programme (SARDP) for north-eastern region.

He also pointed out that foreign firms from five countries - the US, Malayasia, UK, Philippines, China - were entrusted various road projects in the development programme.

http://www.indiainfoline.com/news/news.asp?dat=72532


DS Constructions Ltd, an international infrastructure conglomerate and one of the leading infrastructure developers in India has recently been awarded the 4 laning of Raipur-Aurang road project by NHAI on a BOT basis.

The special purpose vehicle formed for the 42 km long Raipur-Aurang road project of NH-6 in Chattisgarh is called Raipur Expressways Ltd.

The work on the road project has already commenced. The Agreement involves a grant of Rs. 7.60 crore (NPV discounted at 10%) during a concession period of 25 years.

According to M.S. Narula, Managing Director, “This road project joined with Durg-Raipur Expressway, already under execution by the Company, will be the first high speed urban expressway in Chattisgarh linking Raipur with the surrounding industrial areas. This will result in improved road connectivity and decongesting traffic, thus ensuring smooth cargo movement. Also the improved trade routes within the state will have a multiplier effect on Chattisgarh’s local economy, besides easing traffic in this stretch. We are sure of completing the project within the scheduled time period.”

“DS Constructions has an unparalleled experience of 6 decades, in successfully executing complex infrastructure projects. Some of the projects include Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway, Viramgam-Mahesana Gauge Conversion Project- the first BOT project in the railways sector”, he further added.


Work on the Rs1.9bn high traffic density corridor project is expected to be complete within 36 months, by October 2008. The work involves improvement, operation and maintenance, rehabilitation and strengthening of the existing 2-lane road into 4lane.

Delhi's not immune from short-visioned babus too.

Brakes on elevated road after 8 km instead of 50 (http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=114989)

According to the Public Works Department (PWD) of the Delhi government, the Elevated Ring Road project would be limited to 8 km from Wazirabad to Mukarba Chowk, in place of the envisaged 50 km expressway.

The PWD has refused to accept the recommendations of the report prepared by the Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services (IL&FS) study on the Capital’s ring road.

“The report lacks the clarity on how to take an elevated course on the road, as no possible elevation angle has been given in the review. It also fails to provide any solution for joining the flyovers. ,” said a senior government official.

The government has now assigned its ambitious ring road project to an eleven member high powered committee, comprising experts from various fields. PWD principal secretary Rakesh Mohan, Transport Secretary Vijay Madan, Urban Transport head, CRRI, TS Reddy and AK Jain, planning department’s head, DDA are some of its key members.

while this whole nation is suffering because of lack of quality bureaucracy.

Driverless Delhi-Gurgaon expressway in snail lane (http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=114988)

The Rs 550 crore Delhi-Gurgaon expressway, which was slated to have been wrapped up by July 2005, would now be commissioned only by December 2006.

According to the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI), the delay occurred due to the absence of an empowered body to administer the project. Almost four years after the project took off (the project was started in July 2002) officials are now admitting that a nodal body under the aegis of the Cabinet Secretariat, could have done wonders.

The project has hit roadblocks due to conflicts among the Haryana government, Haryana Urban Development Authority (Huda) and Delhi Development Authority (DDA), leading to change in scope of the project.

Sources said, that at least 10 modifications were made in the original design, which escalated the cost by up to Rs 200 crore.

As 18 km out of the total 27 km length of the expressway falls under Haryana, permission for land acquisition was sought from the state government. Since NHAI was implementing the project, it could not refuse ‘requests’ from Haryana government for creating underpasses, intersections and other such modifications on the project route.

A case in point is the ongoing stalemate on creating an underground trumpet interchange on the Kapashera/ NH-8 junction. This ‘request’ was made by DDA to NHAI in July 2003.

Even after clearance from the office of the Lt Governor and the Central Road Research Institute, DDA’s own technical committee is yet to clear it.

Is "empowered" like the in-fashion term in Delhi Durbar nowadays?

Next what? superpowered or supercharged??

or maybe turbopowered or turbocharged!!


:)

Part of BMIC peripheral road to be ready in a few weeks

Righto! Once more proof that sincere Private enterprise ensures faster turn around.....

Cheers to development :cheers:

Bangalore: The Peripheral Road, linking the national and State highways around the city and part of the Bangalore Mysore Infrastructure Corridor (BMIC) project, is likely to be completed by July. The southern portion between Tumkur Road (National Highway 4) and Hosur Road (National Highway 7) may be ready by February end.

http://www.hindu.com/2006/01/20/stories/2006012020520300.htm

Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise (NICE) Managing Director Ashok Kheny announced this on Thursday during a presentation to the Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FKCCI).

"We wanted to take up only the southern portion of the peripheral road and leave the rest to the Government. The Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) has chosen to build a road of its own all around the city, parallel to our road by barely 250 metres in some places," he said.

The original plans of BMIC have been modified for the central median on the Peripheral Road to have a monorail and if approved it could also be a high-speed link to the international airport at Devanahalli.

"There can also be a monorail along the expressway to Mysore. It can have hybrid coaches running up to speeds of 200 kmph; which means you can travel to Mysore in just under 45 minutes," Mr. Kheny said.

The Peripheral Road itself can reduce traffic congestion within the city by close to 40 per cent on the areas close to it, he said. Those now travelling on Outer Ring Road, Bannerghatta Road and Hosur Road, for instance, towards Electronics City can avoid city road and take the Peripheral Road, reducing travel time by at least half.

"Those now commuting to Electronics City may be spending 25 per cent of their working hours on travel alone and the information technology firms there can easily calculate the productive man hours lost," Mr. Kheny said.

The NICE estimates about time and fuel savings were based on actual surveys made over a long period on the stretch of Bannerghatta Road between Meenakshi Temple and IIM-Bangalore. Here almost 45,000 passenger car units (PCUs) passed each hour during peak hours.

Whether the Government or private sector did it, infrastructure is necessary to sustain Bangalore's growth and to spread some of the investment to other centres between the city and Mysore, he said.

The townships planned along BMIC will help decongest the suburbs by being self-contained and be connected fast enough to the city.

The other additions to the BMIC expressway will be a bus terminal on the Outer Ring Road and a truck terminal. The bus terminal can help in reducing travel time and fuel and the transport organisations using it could have a competitive fare structure.

For decongesting the central areas of the city, trade bodies can take up the idea of a infrastructure cess on all new vehicles registered and earn around Rs. 500 crores a year and use it for acquiring land to widen roads but this may not be welcomed by all, Mr. Kheny added.

Malaysia offers cooperation in infrastructure sector
ANI

Kolkata: Emphasising on the need for greater India-Malaysia partnership in infrastructure, Malaysia today offered its “Total solution package” in providing planning, implementing and management services to complement the activities of the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI).

“Partnership between Indian and Malaysian companies has the potential to serve the needs that extend beyond the boundaries of India,” said Dato' Seri S. Samy Vellu, Minister of works, Malaysia, while addressing the plenary session on “Partnering in infrastructure - India and Malaysia: the road ahead” at the Partnership Summit organised by the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII).

“Economists have long acknowledged that efficient and cost effective infrastructure will reduce costs and provide the basis for improved productivity and competitiveness of nations and regions”, he said.

Vellu suggested nearly 10 major road projects namely, Eastern peripheral expressway, expressways between Amritsar-Chandigarh, Chennai-Bangalore, Bangalore-Pune, Delhi-Kolkata, Bangalore-Hyderabad, Chennai-Hyderabad, Bangalore-Kochi, Durg-Nagpur and Delhi-Bhopal for National Highway Development in India.

He further pointed out that Indian Government must view the private sector as a partner in development; he quoted the example of Malaysian Government's public-private partnership as the foundation for the Malaysia Incorporated policy.

“It is the duty of the private sector to create wealth for the nation and it is the duty of the public sector to facilitate this wealth creation,” he said.

“Malaysia's greatest contribution to India is convincing the Indian government that the private sector can be trusted to deliver; and the best way forward for a market economy is to have smart partnership between government as the felicitator and private sector as service provider,” he added.

He also suggested a Build-Operate-Transfer model for India and proposed Malaysian involvement in Indian Infrastructure projects, where Malaysia undertaking the 'Built' portion and India undertaking the 'operate' segment to create employment and finally hand over the project to the Indian Government at no cost of the taxpayers.

All national highway stretches to have automatic tolling by 2006 (http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=115373)

The roads and highway ministry is planning to introduce automatic tolling system on all national highways by the second half of 2006.

Highly-placed sources in the ministry said the ongoing manual tolling system would be replaced by a computerised system. Commuters would be issued encrypted prepaid smart cards from which a specific amount would be deducted while passing through toll plazas.

As a pilot project, these automated toll plazas would be set up on 14 stretches of the Delhi-Mumbai highway. These include stretches like Delhi-Jaipur, Delhi-Agra and Panipat-Jalandha, leading upto Mumbai. Expressions of interest would soon be invited for these, the sources said.

As of now, automated tolling is being done only on Delhi-Noida toll road.

Once automatic tolling is in place, it would be possible to collect toll at a rate of 150 vehicles an hour. The current system of maintaining separate lanes for private and commercial vehicles at toll plazas would be phased out.

Once encrypted cards are introduced, commuters would only have to flash them at the machines installed at the unmanned plazas, which would automatically deduct the toll amount, and the commuters can move ahead without waiting in any queue.

Most significantly, the amount collected through the new system would also be recorded in a master computer, which would be installed at the national highway authority of India (NHAI).

^^

HELL YEAH!!! That's the spirit!

I saw these new tollbooths coming up on NH-2 (Delhi-Agra) a couple of weeks ago. There is currently a temporary tollbooth that will soon be removed. The actual ones are a few hundred metres beyond, and looks as good or better than the Delhi-NOIDA expressway ones (picture1 (http://surajsphotos.fotopic.net/p2410977.html), picture2 (http://surajsphotos.fotopic.net/p2407102.html)). there are 5-6 in each direction. An interesting feature is that the ones in opposite directions are staggered, so that the amount of land required on the sides is not as much as it would be if they were all built abreast. I took some photos of them. Will post later...

I took some photos of them. Will post later...

Hopefully you took lots of photos!

:)

:) Not like last year Sun. For several reasons, I didn't venture out much. Photos are only in New Delhi area and Delhi-Agra NH-2. I figured that with so many more people venturing around with cameras now, there's not going to be much of a shortage of photos, like what led me to start taking these pics three years ago!

This involves 42 kms of road improvement & modernization, flyovers & underpass..

Taken up by Punj Llyod-CTNL consortium for a concession period of 17 1/2 yrs (Construction period of 2 1/2years & maintenance period of 15 years on an annuity)

http://img68.imageshack.us/img68/8039/10007143av.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

1.9 km Tunnel will also be built to bypass 46 kms of highest peaks & this will also help road stay open throughout the year.

http://img59.imageshack.us/img59/5856/manali7zv.jpg

Hindustani, thanks for the update and the picture.

meanwhile, heres an update on the Electronic city expressway project....

Expressway Contract Awarded To Soma, Nagarjuna, Maytas Consortium (http://www.newkerala.com/news.php?action=fullnews&id=95895)

The public-private partnership project contract for the construction of nine kilometres of elevated toll expressway stretch on the Bangalore-Hosur section of NH-7 on BoT basis by NHAI has been awarded to the consortium of Soma Enterprise Ltd, a leading infrastructure developer with Nagarjuna Construction Co and Maytas Infra Pvt Ltd.

The project worth Rs 765 crores has been awarded on a negative grant of Rs 16 crores, an official release said.

Scheduled to commence next month, the project will be completed in 30 months and the consortium will operate the expressway for a period of 20 years.

I have read oppositions to the Bangalore Mysore Infrastsuture Corridor. I knew many people are passionately opposed to it but seeing this violent signboard on flickr i am getting worried.

flickr image of a hoarding opposing BMIC (http://www.flickr.com/photos/anuragjain/29188202/)

i donot jknow how to download that image to blow it up and clearly see the writings but from what i see here is a translation:

the first line in big letters.
line1: kick out NICE save kaNva resvoir
line2: we will even let bood bhoomi we will not give.
line3: get ready
line4: those who want to take our bhoo swaadheena are not welcome here
line 5: bcoz of heritage industry kaNva reservoir is getting polluted, forests and wildlife are being destroyed
line 6: not only that there is no scope here to take the lands of poor farmers and dalitas.
line 7: we are not the type of people who will go to somewher else to earn a livelihood. our bhoomi is everything to us.
line 8:(not clear) construction industry live flame of our body
line 9: (in bold yellow letters) get ready for a bloody revolution
line 10: environmental protection union channapatna taluk

Interestingly somebody else has thrown cowdung on the hoarding.

But such language is unheard of in this part of the country. If somebody can be so riled up then something must be seriously wrong.

I am beginning to wonder if expanding the exisiting highway (http://www.flickr.com/photos/girishrohan/87763997/ ) to six lanes as was proposed (http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/sep42005/district175020200593.asp) some time ago might be a better alternative.

I am not in India. So am unaware of the ground realities. If any of you guys know please share.

Do you really want to start a new thread for this one. It would be more appropriate if u post this in 'bangalore project update' thread or 'india highways thread'.

Anyway here is the large size pic for you

http://i1.tinypic.com/mmy040.jpg

Anniyan,
you can move the thread.
thanks for the image.

first off, very surprised to see such structures on Bangalore Mysore road. the road literally is a gully. truly not a good sign.

Another usual story

DELHI-GURGAON EXPRESSWAY: Road to nowhere?

15 MONTHS OFF TARGET, NHAI’S AIRPORT-TECH HUB LINK STILL STUCK IN LAND ACQUISITION, RED TAPE

FIFTEEN months past deadline, the prestigious expressway that would connect the Indira Gandhi International Airport to Gurgaon, remains a road to nowhere.

Despite assurances from the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), its Dhaula Kuan-Gurgaon expressway is now all set to miss the second deadline: December, 2006. And it’s anybody’s guess now when the 27.7-km stretch, which promised to reduce travel time between the two spots to 20 minutes, will actually take off.

Hurdle 1: Where’s the land?
Hurdle 2: Passing underpass
Hurdle 3: Govts get greedy
Hurdle 4: 17 hands, no vision

More details at http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=167722

Reliance Energy will build roads in TN
http://dnaindia.com/report.asp?NewsID=1010349&CatID=4

Reliance Energy on Monday made its debut in road construction with the signing of two concession agreements with the National Highways Authority of India. Reliance Energy-promoted special purpose vehicles would four-lane two sections on NH-7 in Tamil Nadu on build-operate-transfer basis. Both the projects fall on the North-South corridor under National Highways Development Project (NHDP) -Phase II.

One of the SPVs, N K Toll Road Ltd, would four-lane the 33.5 km long, high-traffic density corridor of Namakkal-Karur section of NH 7 on BOT basis.
The work is expected to be completed in 30 months at a cost of Rs 205.6 crore. The concession period is 20 years, inclusive of the time taken for construction. The concessionaire, N K Toll Road Ltd, would get a grant component of Rs 24 crore from NHAI.

The second agreement has been signed with DS Toll Road Ltd for four-laning of 53.025 km long corridor of Dindigul-Samyanallore section (km 373.275 - km 426.6) of NH-7 on BOT basis. The project is expected to be completed in 30 months at a cost of Rs 283.5 crore. The concession period is 20 years, inclusive of the time taken for the construction.

Past blocks road to future

The remains of an ancient civilisation in Jajmau mounds that fall exactly in the way of the under-construction 4-lane Lucknow-Kanpur Highway is holding up construction on this stretch. This highway forms the part of the East-West Corridor connecting Porbandar (Gujarat) with Silchar in the North-East.

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is requesting the State Archeology Directorate (SAD) to let the mounds give way to the highway, but the latter says “how can a civilisation treasure be trampled like this?”.

This has ‘scared’ the NHAI, which might have to divert the highway if the archaeological directorate officials stick to their guns. “After removing the mounds, we plan to construct a four- lane bridge over the Ganga to streamline the movement of traffic. If we don’t do so the present bridge will become a bottleneck and lead to traffic jams. This will defeat the very purpose of the express highway,” a NHAI official said.

Read more at http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/5922_1613861,0015002500000000.htm

i absolutely agree with the Archeology Directorate on this one. NHAI should work on diverting the route.

They are the relics of our past and need to preserved. Why not let the Delhi Metro graze through the Qutub Minar complex then?

i absolutely agree with the Archeology Directorate on this one. NHAI should work on diverting the route.

They are the relics of our past and need to preserved. Why not let the Delhi Metro graze through the Qutub Minar complex then?

Absolutely right!

But isn't it kind of strange that the NHAI is only now finding out about this? Don't they do any local surveys in advance? I am missing something here.

Some photos of the under construction Bangalore-Mysore expressway.

http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/8751/panotest1tz.th.jpg (http://img84.imageshack.us/my.php?image=panotest1tz.jpg)

http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/5137/img00268od.th.jpg (http://img225.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img00268od.jpg)

http://img95.imageshack.us/img95/4623/img00396xw.th.jpg (http://img95.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img00396xw.jpg)

sleepy..............very nice update. Blr-Mys expressway has been delayed for years now. But once its completed it will change the face of Mysore and the land in between. :)

Some photos of the under construction Bangalore-Mysore expressway.

http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/8751/panotest1tz.th.jpg (http://img84.imageshack.us/my.php?image=panotest1tz.jpg)

http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/5137/img00268od.th.jpg (http://img225.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img00268od.jpg)

http://img95.imageshack.us/img95/4623/img00396xw.th.jpg (http://img95.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img00396xw.jpg)

sleepy_in_blr:>welcome to the SSC-forum:)

NHAI to invite bids for toll plaza automation

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2006/02/04/stories/2006020403330600.htm

This involves 42 kms of road improvement & modernization, flyovers & underpass..

Taken up by Punj Llyod-CTNL consortium for a concession period of 17 1/2 yrs (Construction period of 2 1/2years & maintenance period of 15 years on an annuity)

http://img68.imageshack.us/img68/8039/10007143av.jpg (http://imageshack.us)


Do I see a truck driving in the opposite direction in this picture?

MP :runaway:

Question : What is the difference between an "Expressway" and our "National Highway's".

Can the new BMIC between Bangalore and Mysore be considered an "Expressway" in the sense that it is refered to in the west and china ?

http://www.roadtraffic-technology.com/projects/mysore/

Question : What is the difference between an "Expressway" and our "National Highway's".

Can the new BMIC between Bangalore and Mysore be considered an "Expressway" in the sense that it is refered to in the west and china ?

http://www.roadtraffic-technology.com/projects/mysore/

A National Highway is not necessarily an expressway (example NH34) and an expressway is not necessarily a National highway (example Mumbai Pune Expressway). Some national highways can be expressways (Durgapur Expressway - part of NH2) and others are being given a new name - National Expressway (example: a section of Ahmedabad Vadodara Expressway is National Expressway 1 / NE1).

The BMIC is probably an expressway in the sense that is referred to in the west.

Suraj / Sridhar can probably throw some light on this issue.

Expressway refers to a standard for road design - a signal-free access controlled road. National Highways are designations for stretches of roads. Their condition may vary from full-blown expressways to potholed lunar landscapes.

According to plans the BMIC road will be an access restricted expressway.
Also it will be a tollway.

The term expressway itself may be ambiguous (in many US states, for instance, expressways are two levels below interstates in the hierarchy of nomenclature and are not necessarily access-controlled). In the Indian context however, they mostly mean access-controlled roads allowing for uninterrupted, high-speed travel. National Highways are typically trunk roads that span two or more states (though there are some rare exceptions of national highways that are entirely within one state) and are under the jurisdication of the Central Government.

As Suncity pointed out, not all National Highways are expressways (as defined generally in India) and not all expressways are national highways. Other examples of expressways that are not national highways include the IT expressway in Chennai, the DND flyway in Delhi/NOIDA and even the Gautam Budhha expressway between NOIDA and Greater NOIDA.

There is a new designation called National Expressway. Currently, there is only one stretch of National Expressway (NE-1) between Ahmedabad and Baroda. The reason for this is that the stretch is not designated as a National Highway, but it is still under the control of the Central Government (and operates under the provisions of the National Highway Act). Hence the need for a new category of roads.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/13/National_highway_network_map.png (http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:National_highway_network_map.png)
Drwn using illustrator, i just love this program :D
Gandhinagar is spelled "Gandhinagar", yes?

Thanks for the reply guys.

In addition to acess control, is there any specifications like the number of lanes or the width or the quality of construction for a road to be classified as an 'Expressway' ?

What i could gather from the reply that you guys posted was that - A National Highway need not necessarily inferior to an expressway in terms of traffic flow and ride quality; acess to it is not controlled that's all;

Is the above notion correct ?

Also, have the North-South and East-West corridors been completed ? Has the portion of the golden quad. that passes through Karnataka been completed ?


P.S : Here is a cool NY Times report on the golden quad. and India's economy, etc >> http://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/international/20051204_HIGHWAY_FEATURE/blocker.html

Thanks.

Good observation, Machu :)

Infact the truck (TATA 407) is not coming this way. There is a crossing at that point, the Golf links road joins the main road there. Also you can see a two wheeler getting in to the other side of the central median, as well as a "Zebra crossing".

It seems that the milk truck which has come from the Golf links road has stopped there at the MILMA milk booth by the side of the Foot path.

Anyway it is a violation of the traffic law as it is parked in a traffic lane.. :bash: Road users in India seems to be the least informed & educated about road manners..

Do I see a truck driving in the opposite direction in this picture?

MP :runaway:

Work on roads to be completed soon

Special Correspondent

Work on city roads to be completed soon. First phase of road project to be ready in 2007

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Public Works Minister M.K. Muneer said here on Monday that first phase of the Thiruvananthapuram city roads improvement project would be completed by 2007.

Addressing a press conference here, the Minister said that the Thiruvananthapuram airport-Chackai road, Kaudiar-Vellayambalam road and the General Hospital-Palayam road would be ready in a matter of weeks. The flyover at Bakery junction would be ready only by September.

Dr. Muneer said that the construction of an underground parking facility below the Secretariat grounds or the nearby Central stadium was under consideration. This would ease parking problems in the vicinity of the Secretariat.

He said that the city roads improvement project was started after improving 26 roads needed for diversion of traffic. The contracts under the project included 15-year maintenance contract from the time of completion of each road. He said that the project covered 42 km of roads in 13 corridors. The works included flyovers, underpass, and railway over bridge, signages, signalling systems and landscaping.

The project would ensure better ride quality, better drainage, wider junctions, standard bus bays and fast movement of vehicles. More than 1,250 trees would be planted on the pavements against 100 trees being cut for the widening of the roads.

http://www.hindu.com/2006/02/07/sto...20719520300.htm

A section which is getting complete..

http://img63.imageshack.us/img63/3084/10007111or.jpg

very important project imo, since most of the time in getting to pune is actually spent in bombay itself

Expressway gets extra mileage

By Yogesh Naik/TNN

Mumbai: Four years after the Mumbai-Pune expressway brought the two cities closer, the state government plans to extend it from Kalamboli near Panvel to Sion to enhance traffic flow.
The extra leg will reduce commuting time between the two cities by another 30 minutes. According to the plan, the Panvel-Sion corridor will be widened, with dedicated lanes for heavy and light vehicles. Service roads will be built for entry and exit at various points.
The proposal will be brought before the cabinet in a couple of weeks. The expressway expansion will take place under the aegis of the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC), which constructed the expressway during the Shiv Sena-BJP regime. Ramanath Jha, managing director of MSRDC, said that they hoped to start work in March 2007 and complete the expansion by September 2008. The 22 km link will cost the government Rs 800 crore. Officials said there would be no hike in toll. But there will be access control to the main roadway.
“It’s not just an expressway, it’ll be part of an urban transportation project,’’ said Jha, adding that new subways, foot-overbridges and flyovers would be constructed for pedestrian and vehicular traffic. Another MSRDC official said that fortunately the expansion would not require any buildings to be demolished since the carriageway was broad enough.
Former MSRDC MD R C Sinha, who spearheaded the expressway project, said, “They must have flyovers at RCF, the Thane junction and Chembur signal. Besides, the Sion flyover must have a southbound carriageway. The authorities should ensure that rickshaws are allowed only on service roads.’’

VITAL STATS

Distance from Panvel to Sion: 22 km

Number of lanes: 10

Cost: Rs 800 crore

Starting time: March 2007

i wonder how the above will impact the mmrda's eastern express highway upgradation since a lot of the road is common. also will they be concretising the stretch or using asphalt? the cost seems to suggest concrete, which would be great

the two-way flyover at sion is an absolute must. its the biggest bottleneck on the eastern side and the one-way flyover is absolutely useless

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2006/02/07/images/2006020701010701.jpg
If everything goes as per schedule, the Dhulagarh toll terminus on the NH6 near Kolkata should be ready for operation within the next few months, thus making yet another new addition to the number of such terminuses currently operating in West Bengal.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2006/02/07/stories/2006020701010700.htm

Troubling news for GQ - section of newly built National Highway collapses in Howrah.

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1060210/images/10lorry.jpg


Road crashes with two trucks
- Approach to bridge in Bally caves in, drivers jump out in time

Calcutta, Feb 9: A portion of a crowded approach road to a bridge in Bally collapsed late last night, and two trucks came tumbling down with it.

However, no one was hurt.

The road, which leads to the CCR Bridge — its runs over railway tracks — on National Highway 6 at Bally in Howrah, was constructed recently and opened to traffic less than a month ago.

The drivers of the two trucks, which were speeding down from opposite ends, had a miraculous escape as they jumped out in time.

RBM-PATI (JV), a Malaysia-based company that built the road under contract with the National Highway Authorities of India (NHAI), washed its hands of the incident. “We used reinforced earth wall to make that approach road. It is used all over India to make such roads. There was nothing wrong with it,” said project manager Zainal Fitri.

“We can’t say right at this moment how the collapse took place. An investigation will be carried out to ascertain the cause of the incident.”

An official of RBM-PATI said it was uncertain when the road would be repaired. “It will be decided by the NHAI. We can’t say this.”



GQ: Highway sinks to a new low
http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=169135

IN a major blow to the Government of India’s showcase project — the Golden Quadrilateral, a newly-built stretch of a link road, connecting the GQ with Mumbai Road (National Highway 6), caved in late last night. The incident has cast serious doubts about the quality of construction work — a crucial issue that slain NHAI engineer Satyendra Dubey had persistently raised. This part of the GQ project — was built just recently. In fact, parts of the road are still being completed.

Despite the seriousness of the problem, there were not many officials to answer some crucial questions. P Minhas, the team leader of the consultant firm, would only say that a report regarding the accident had been submitted to Lt Col G K Nair, the project director, National Highway Authority of India (NHAI). Nair was not in the city.

The particular stretch of the GQ had been executed as a joint venture between two Malaysian firms, RBM and Pati. The project, it was learnt, had been designed by another foreign firm, Inter Continental Technocrats Private Limited (ICT) of which Minhas is the team leader.

R S Pandey, legal advisor of RBM, said: ‘‘Until thorough investigations are conducted and the reason for the collapse is adjudged, we will not be able to comment.’’




Highway cave-in probe begins
- Needle of suspicion points to engineers
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1060211/asp/bengal/story_5833141.asp

The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) today started an inquiry into the subsidence of Bombay Road at Bally in Howrah on Wednesday night.

The approach road to the bridge, which collapsed taking down two trucks with it, is part of the Golden Quadrilateral project and was opened to traffic less than a month ago.

The owners of the trucks today lodged a joint FIR against RBM-PATI, the Malaysian company that rebuilt the road.

“We are questioning officials of the company and trying to ascertain the cause of the collapse,” said Kalyan Banerjee, the Howrah additional superintendent of police (town).

A team of engineers led by NHAI project director B.K. Majhi inspected the site this morning and collected samples of construction material for examination.

“There’s been some gross neglect of duty and we are trying to find out who were responsible,” an NHAI officer said.

Experts said the cave-in occurred because of lapses during the rebuilding of the National Highway 6.

NHAI officials said preliminary inquiries have revealed that the soil could not bear the load of the road. “We are re-testing the soil and examining whether the load-bearing capacity of the soil was taken into account during construction. We will also see whether steps specified by the NHAI were followed when the road was being built,” an official said.

Officials said the supervising engineers of the contractor as well as the NHAI “cannot avoid their responsibility”.

Representatives of the contractor, RBM-PATI, said it is not possible to say anything definite at this stage. “We are now planning the restoration of the affected portion of the road,” said Sandipan Deb Roy, a senior manager.

The state government today criticised the NHAI for ignoring it while implementing the Golden Quadrilateral.

“It has not, at any point, consulted us on any matter in the past three years. We could have provided them information on soil and other condi- tions,” said PWD minister Amar Chowdhury.




NHAI follows a 'soiled' path - TOI investigative report
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1410268.cms

Strange it may sound, but the fact is the National Highway Authority of India's (NHAI) technical parameters for laying roads are uniform throughout the country despite massive variations in the country's geological formation and soil texture. Investigations by TOI into Thursday's subsidence at a newly-built section of National Highway 6 revealed that NHAI-appointed contractors — Malaysian consortium Road Builders Malaysia and PATI — were asked to follow the same guidelines in West Bengal as in Bihar, Haryana and Rajasthan. "In West Bengal, we followed the same soil compaction norms and techniques as in other sections of the Golden Quadrilateral Project elsewhere in the country," said a project engineer.

Delhi-based NHAI official (chief general manager in-charge of projects in Bengal) A P S Sethi conceded that uniform norms were followed all over the country.

However, he said mandatory soil-testing procedures were necessary before building embankments in areas with water bodies.

"We're investigating if there has been a lapse on the part of consultant firm Inter Continental Consultants & Technocrat Pvt Ltd," he said.

This is shocking, for West Bengal's geology and topography are markedly different from Bihar's, Rajasthan's and Haryana's.

"While the earth in north India is more compact, the alluvium soil (clay and fine silt) in Gangetic West Bengal is very soft," said Indranil Banerjee, a geologist at the Geological Survey of India.

Worse still, NHAI does not appear to have learnt any lessons from past instances where the weakness was detected and reported by experts. Six months ago, after cracks developed at the Pakuria Road Overbridge on NH-6, less than 2 km from Thursday's cave-in site, the expert committee reported that loose soil had caused the faults.

Civil and structural engineers in the city said road construction in Bengal needed specialised reinforcement to prevent subsidence.

Former state PWD chief engineer Amitava Chatterjee said the compaction technique needed to be very different from that followed in states that had hard or rocky terrain.

"While building an embankment, meticulous compaction is needed after each layer of six inches. Rollers must be used and the earth frequently watered to ensure stability. The compaction of each layer here takes longer than elsewhere," Chatterjee said.

^^

Damn, someone needs to come down on their "quality control", or rather their lack fo it. :bash:

you gotta be FUCKING kidding me.

it is supposed to be a dream project and has just been built in that area and within months of completion in this part of the route, there is no way the road can collapse.

severe lack of quality standards. i say arrest the engineers involved and also every body involved like the contractors who were directly involved in building this part of the road.

serious action must be taken so this doesn't repeat again in any other part of the country.

somebody should probably sue these people. that will teach a good lesson. i would have probably done that if i were in india.

you gotta be FUCKING kidding me.

it is supposed to be a dream project and has just been built in that area and within months of completion in this part of the route, there is no way the road can collapse.

severe lack of quality standards. i say arrest the engineers involved and also every body involved like the contractors who were directly involved in building this part of the road.

serious action must be taken so this doesn't repeat again in any other part of the country.

somebody should probably sue these people. that will teach a good lesson. i would have probably done that if i were in india.
and sue the incompetent and unscrupulous contractors for damages and rebuilding expenses.

That stretch was built by Malaysian contractors, IJM-PATI or something. Last I heard, one of the truck owners has sued them for damages.

meanwhile, heres more depressing news....

Highway Halted (http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story.php?content_id=87762)

Deadline long buried, only 12 per cent of the Golden Quadrilateral is left but it’s crawling. As for the East-West, North-South corridor, the lights are switched off, everyone’s gone home

Almost everyone, from the Prime Minister down, talks of the desperate need for an infrastructure upgrade across the country. Nothing could be a more powerful evidence of success on this front than the Golden Quadrilateral and the North-South, East-West network of modern highways.

But India’s most ambitious road project, pushed into the fast lane by the NDA government, is now crawling. The 5,846-km GQ which connects the four metros with four-lane highways should have been completed long ago. But five years and Rs 23,775.61 crore later, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) keeps shifting the deadline—from 2004 to 2006 and now 2007 and 2008 for some stretches.

To get the big picture, here’s that inevitable comparison — while neighbour China built over 40,000 km of expressways in the past five years, India added just about 6,000 km.

On paper, land still to be acquired for the GQ is not much. Out of 8,362 hectares, 7,852 hectares have been acquired—leaving just 6 per cent. But that’s where the signs of crawl appear first.

Consider these:

• Over the last six months, the government has just added 1 per cent.

• In Tamil Nadu, for instance, 33 per cent of the land still needs to be acquired. The state just managed to get 6 per cent in the last six months.

• The Haveri-to-Sira stretch in Karnataka, being executed by UEM-Essar, an Indo-Malaysian joint venture, should have been completed by August 2004. The contractor has repeatedly got extensions and has been termed a ‘‘non-performer.’’

• After latest extension, the new deadline: June 2006. And NHAI officials aren’t quite sure they will meet it. Asked to explain the delay, an Essar spokesperson said land was not made available at the time when the contract was awarded and work had to continue in patches.

• Even on stretches where acquisition is complete, the project is limping. Officially, only the Mumbai-Delhi link of the GQ is complete and NHAI’s own records show that on January 1, 2006, 692 km of GQ is still ‘‘under implementation.’’

Land acquisition is not a big problem on the Delhi-Kolkata leg but bad contractors and law and order problems are.

Another factor that’s holding back the Ministry from taking action against contractors is the fact that a non-performer on one stretch may have been awarded a bonus for completing a project on another leg of the GQ.

One such contractor is Progressive Construction Ltd that is building the Sunakhala-Ganjam stretch on Kolkata-Chennai leg.

and sue the incompetent and unscrupulous contractors for damages and rebuilding expenses.

laws need to be changed to make the government bodies suable...in India you cannot sue a government body today...unlike in the US.

MP

North-South, East-West, Nowhere Corridors

NEW DELHI: This was perhaps more daring a dream than the Golden Quadrilateral-highways to connect four corners of India, Srinagar with Kanyakumari, Silchar with Porbandar.

But the North-South East-West corridors have run into a nightmare. The troubles that plague the GQ are playing out on a bigger scale on these corridors.

Already Rs 3,433.48 crore has been spent on the NS-EW corridors but virtually there has been little physical progress.

Between January 2004 and January 2006, as many as 374 contracts were awarded while the length four-laned is just 232 km. While Surface Transport Minister T R Baalu celebrates the fact that his government awarded 132 contracts for 5,565 km in just 588 days as against the NDA's 122 contracts for 5,053 km in 1,257 days, officials admit that contracts are the easiest part.

They say the ills of the GQ have just been transmitted to the NS-EW corridor. “Land acquisition, which was a major problem in the GQ, is going to be a problem in the NS-EW corridors,” says a senior NHAI official.

A series of contracts on NS-EW corridors have been awarded by NHAI where land is yet to be acquired and handed over. Unless this is done, work cannot begin.

While GQ needed 8,362 hectares, the NS-EW corridor needs more than twice the area. For a project that is due for completion in 2008, only 14.9 per cent land has been acquired till January 1, 2006. In Andhra Pradesh, where it needs the biggest chunk, 2641.5 hectares, the NHAI has been able to acquire only 0.2 per cent.

Ministry officials say that despite meetings between the Cabinet Secretary and chief secretaries of states such as Tamil Nadu, there are political as well as administrative issues that hold back acquisition.

“Either state governments do not depute the required staff for this task or officials do not want to take a decision if elections are round the corner,” says an official. That means more bad news in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal and Assam.

“Obviously, we want to do better than what we currently are being able to do,” says L K Joshi, Secretary, Road Transport ministry. While agreeing that land is yet to be acquired for a series of contracts that have already been awarded, the Secretary says that the only other option is to stop awarding contracts and wait for two years before land is acquired and handed over.

So while around 565 km of the NS-EW were constructed by the beginning of 2004, the last two years have seen barely 232 km of four-laning on this 7,300-km corridor. That's about 0.3 km a day.

NHAI officials have a ready explanation. “We have just awarded these contracts. It will take at least two years for the actual progress to get reflected,” is what they say.

But what emerges is a picture of disaster.

The first phase of the NS-EW corridors is under NHDP-I and the second, under NHDP-II. While 981 km are under phase I, the rest is under phase II.* In Phase I, where work started along with the GQ, 184 km still needs to be completed.

* There are 12 projects still “under implementation”. Work on nine projects started over four-five years ago are yet to be completed.

* The Purnea-Gayakota project in Bihar is late by 49 months and due for completion in April this year. This project should have been completed in March 2002.

* The Kunjwani-Vijaypur section of the highway in J&K started in January 2002. But till January 1, 2006 not a single km has been four-laned.

* Work on the Lucknow bypass of 22.85 km started in September 2001. But NHAI's latest data shows no part of the highway has still been four-laned. The deadline, meanwhile, has shifted from August 2004 to December 2006.

* On the Thumpipadi-Salem section in Tamil Nadu, only 3.9 km out of the 19.2-km stretch has been built Since September 2001. In the second phase, NHAI seems to be in a hurry to award contracts and keep contractors waiting while it continues to carry out surveys.

A contractor said they have to run around to get all the clearances even after getting the contract. Forest clearances are not even under the control the state government.

This leads to contractors wasting precious resources on manpower and machinery that needs to be deployed at the site. For instance, on the East-West corridor running through Assam, in nine out of the 19 projects, NHAI is still to give a start date to the contractors. In two projects on Guwahati to Nalbari, NHAI was still carrying out survey after the contract was awarded.

There are similar cases in other parts-in Bihar, MP, Rajashthan, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

Another contractor who works on the corridors said: “We understand that there are no short cuts in the government processes but there should be more due diligence before contracts are awarded. We (contractors) are suffering on account of this and they (NHAI) do not compensate us adequately for the delays.”

He added: “Ordering and deploying machines can take anywhere from 4-5 months. We have to bear the cost of hiring machines that are not being utilised because some portion of the land still needs to be acquired.”

* In the second phase, out of the 109 projects classified as “under implementation”, three projects started as far back as in 2004. Not a single km has been four-laned. These are Kanniyakumari-Panagudi (30.6 km, started in March 2004, deadline September 2006); the Srinagar bypass (17.8 km, started December 2003, deadline June 2006); and Silchar-Udarband (34 km, started on September 2004, deadline September 2007).

* In 11 projects on the NS-EW corridors, even after three months of awarding contracts with work having “started”, the government is yet to appoint supervision consultants. (The average time for awarding these contracts is 6-8 weeks).

The official explanation: One, it's too small a number to be worried about as there are close to 200 projects on these corridors. Two, the shortlisted bidders in some of the cases may not have been able to meet the qualifying standard.

http://www.newindpress.com/NewsItems.asp?ID=IEH20060212111755&Page=H&Title=Top+Stories&Topic=0

the upa does seem more interested in old slogans of 'garibi hatao' and fancy social schemes than real schemes that will benefit more indians in the long run like infrastructure. it would be a tragedy if the national highways scheme gets a slow death before it accomplishes much

Hi,
I have been a lurker in this forum for a long time. I have to commend the great work by the contributors to this forum. The highway and other infrastructure pics certainly makes all of us proud.
But coming to the collapse of the Highway in West Bengal, one thing that struck me immediately is the lack of coverage of this news in the main stream Indian media. Atleast I didnt see a big headline in rediff or on the webpage of NDTV. I think the media needs to sensationalize this story and literally wake up our public to demand action against the engineers and others responsible for this. This would send a warning sign to other engineers/contractors to do their frigging job .

I know many of us in this forum live outside India now. But what I wanted to suggest was, we, as citizens of India who really care about our country, have to do something about this. Do you think we sending an email/letter to different TV and media outlets in India to cover this story would help.

Once our people wake up to the corruption then there will sure be some accountability. But to wake up our people, I think media is the biggest weapon. Since this is not necessarily related to any specific political party, and rahter to corrupt engineers/contractors, media houses will be more enthusiastic to cover this.

Your thoughts are welcome. I think we should act in unison and try to bring about some change atleast try to bring some chane.

If this is the wrong forum for this posting, I apologize. I really think that people who post in this forum have lot of pride and respect for India and are fairly well educated, and collectively want India to grow and prosper. So lets do our part to make this story gain headlines, which will hopefully make other highways under construction a little more safer.

Thanks

sounds like a good idea prabs24.

but the media isn't interested in this kinda stuff.

also, highways are the most direct way of judging a country's infrastructure. so, why does it not strike our politicians that promptness and quality are two aspects in infrastructure development and if it isn't done now, we might never get the opportunity to do it again.

I think legal accountability is the need of the hour...citizens should be able to sue NHAI and the MoST for the lethargic progress...class action law suits should bring these departments to their knees...maybe you guys can mill together and file a PIL in the supreme court of India for speedy implementation of infrastructure reforms...just like the Delhi HC and SC ordered the govt to do the CNG thing and also ordered dem,olition of all illegal constructions in delhi...looks like the courts do have power over the government...

i think tranpsort associations can get together ans sue NHAI demanding them slow progress is leading to loss of revenues and saftey issues...hey its a legal thing...just come up with the right legal arguments...
\
MP

Hi,
I have been a lurker in this forum for a long time. I have to commend the great work by the contributors to this forum. The highway and other infrastructure pics certainly makes all of us proud.
But coming to the collapse of the Highway in West Bengal, one thing that struck me immediately is the lack of coverage of this news in the main stream Indian media. Atleast I didnt see a big headline in rediff or on the webpage of NDTV. I think the media needs to sensationalize this story and literally wake up our public to demand action against the engineers and others responsible for this. This would send a warning sign to other engineers/contractors to do their frigging job .

I know many of us in this forum live outside India now. But what I wanted to suggest was, we, as citizens of India who really care about our country, have to do something about this. Do you think we sending an email/letter to different TV and media outlets in India to cover this story would help.

Once our people wake up to the corruption then there will sure be some accountability. But to wake up our people, I think media is the biggest weapon. Since this is not necessarily related to any specific political party, and rahter to corrupt engineers/contractors, media houses will be more enthusiastic to cover this.

Your thoughts are welcome. I think we should act in unison and try to bring about some change atleast try to bring some chane.

If this is the wrong forum for this posting, I apologize. I really think that people who post in this forum have lot of pride and respect for India and are fairly well educated, and collectively want India to grow and prosper. So lets do our part to make this story gain headlines, which will hopefully make other highways under construction a little more safer.

Thanks

^^

You can start by creating a website to rally people with similar feelings, like what I'm doign with fixhyderabad.com, and even model your site on it. If you guys are really interested in reforming India, a good reference is www.rebuildindia.org, a website that provides tips for various kids of public action.

High Courts and SC do have power over gov't. on several issues, the courts have ordered the gov't to take action and the gov't had to. but the problem is nobody is willing to spend the money and take the time to sue these retards.


the one suggestion i can give: organize a massive funds campaign. use that money for a good lawyer and the sue the asses of everybody including the Ministry of Roads (i don't know what they call this ministry; but something like that) for such a major mishap.

It's great to be typing in front of a computer, but in practical life, this takes a lot of your time and is only possible if several people come together and share the burden.

I really doubt if u can sue GOI. I dont there are laws to do that.

Whether you can sue the GOI or the NDA's Trinamool continues to provide comic relief on this issue.

GQ hits Trinamool roadblock
http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=169513

ON Day 3 of the Golden Quadrilateral (GQ) collapse in Howrah, politics grabbed centrestage, with Trinamool Congress workers laying siege to a camp of the construction company — RBM-Pati.

The Trinamool workers, led by local leader Rajib Banerjee, locked in the engineer of RBM-Pati — the Malaysian joint venture enterprise which was executing the construction of the Dankuni-Kolaghat stretch of the NH-6, a part of which caved in on Wednesday night.

The workers hurled stones at the office and deflated the tyres of two trucks parked on the premises of the site office at the 23-km post. The staff were prevented from leaving the premises, severely retarding construction work in the adjoining roads.

The party workers have held RBM-Pati responsible for the collapse of the embankment on the road overbridge to the National Highway.

The NHAI authorities alleged that this obstruction by Trinamool workers would only hinder the progress of the repair work.

‘‘We have appealed to these men to come forward and discuss their stand, but they have refused to talk on the matter,’’ said A P S Fethi, CGM, NHAI who came from Delhi to inspect the accident site.

GPS-enabled traffic signals to revolutionise motoring

Staff Reporter

Thiruvananthapuram: Motorists moving in a prescribed speed will be able to move through a traffic corridor without stopping before the traffic signals once the Global Positioning System (GPS)-enabled traffic signals are commissioned in the capital city.

The GPS-enabled solar powered-signals will be set up at all junctions, including the LMS-Attakulangara and Vellayambalam-Peroorkada traffic corridors.

Synchronised

The signals will be synchronised in such a way that a motorist who gets the green signal at LMS junction gets the right of way at other signals that will be installed at Palayam, VJT, Spencer, Secretariat, Pulimoodu, Ayurveda College, Pazhavangadi and East Fort in the LMS-Attakulangara corridor.

This will enable the motorists to prevent wastage of fuel on account of frequent stoppages before the traffic signals and ensure road discipline.

The signals have been installed by Keltron under the ongoing City Roads Improvement Project. Already, the first GPS-enabled traffic signals have started functioning at the Kowdiar junction. Forty signals heads have been installed as the authorities had removed the traffic islands as part of junction improvement.

Over 10 solar panels have been set up and back-up facility provided for the functioning of signals.

"The signals can be synchronised to suit the traffic needs during peak and non-peak hours. The traffic signals can also be programmed to cater to the needs of the traffic police on days when there are rallies and processions in the capital city," general manager, (Traffic Signals and Signages), Keltron, A.V. Ratnagiri told The Hindu .

At night, the traffic signals will act as blinkers.

The blinkers will be visible from half-a-km and will help the law enforcing agencies tackle crime, he said. Under the City Roads Improvement Project, the Government has taken up the development of 12 road corridors, covering a distance of 42.37 km, and improvement of 65 junctions.

Source: The Hindu

This is one of the most extensive implementation of synchronised signals in the country. While doing an internship at the Centre for Development of Advance Computing (C-DAC) at Trivandrum, I have seen the level of sophistication of the system, KELTRON works in co-operation with C-DAC. Punj Lloyd, which is executing the TRDP project, is installing sophisticated signal systems and high-mast lighting further improving on the best road system in Kerala. :)

TRYING TO CREATE A POT-HOLE FREE BANGALORE

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4715470.stm

BMC proposes, traffic dept disposes

Concretisation Of Roads In Island City Hangs In The Balance

By Clara Lewis/TNN

Mumbai: Harried motorists will have to wait longer for a pleasurable drive on south Mumbai’s roads—perhaps until after the rains.
Road concreting work in the island city has run into a roadblock, thanks to a stand-off between BMC officials and the traffic police. Civic officials allege that the police are making them run from pillar to post for paperwork and refusing permission to dig up roads. But according to the cops multiple agencies are putting up requests, leading to confusion.
The municipal corporation has taken up 60 km of arterial road for concreting at a cost of Rs 342 crore. The work orders were issued in May last year, with the civic body wanting to complete 60% of the works before the monsoon. “We are at our wits’ end. If the permissions do not come in time, the work will only be delayed and then there will be problems in the monsoon for which the BMC will be blamed,’’ said civic officials.
But traffic commissioner Satish Mathur blames the civic body saying there were as many as 15 civic departments—not to mention other utility agencies—who want to dig up the city roads at the same time.
The urgency is because no road improvement work can be carried out after May 10, which is the deadline set by the N V Merani committee that has been advising the BMC on improving the city’s roads. Civic officials point out that while the problem was in the island city there were no such issues in the suburbs.
“The traffic police was informed about the roads to be taken up for improvement prior to the work orders being issued. The traffic commissioner had in-principle agreed to grant permission. But it is officials at the local level who are creating a hurdle,’’ said sources.
They said while permission was granted to dig up a stretch of the Maharashi Karve road, that has been taken up for concreting, the traffic police for over a month has been refusing permission to take up the rest of the road. “Along buildings, the traffic police granted us permission but near the cemetery from Marine Lines to Churchgate they have been consistently refusing it. Where they could
have been a problem they readily agreed but where there is no such problem they turn down our request,’’ said officials. On the other hand, one side of the road outside the Oval maidan has been completed but the traffic police refuse to open it for traffic. “They are not granting us permission to do the other side of the road nor are they opening the completed section to traffic. It is now being used as a parking lot,’’ added officials.
Pointing out difficulties in granting permission, Mathur said the BMC had parcelled out work to 6-7 contractors on the same road. “Despite road improvement work, we have to ensure that traffic is smooth. If we allow all the contractors to dig up the roads, traffic will come to a standstill. For instance work on the Metro junction is still on, how can we allow the Mahapalika Marg to be dug up ?’’ he asked.

DS bags Rs 1800 cr expressway project


India's DS Constructions-led consortium has bagged a Rs 1,800 crore contract to build the country's largest expressway in Haryana.
To be constructed on build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis, the 135-km Kundli-Manesar-Palwal expressway, when completed in 42 months, will connect 4 of Haryana’s important industrial centers, intersect 4 of India’s busiest national highways besides helping decongest traffic in Delhi, the company today said.

The project, to be executed through a special purpose vehicle (SPV), KMP Expressways, has been awarded by Haryana State Industrial Development Corporation (HSIDC) to the consortium in which UK-based Apollo Enterprises and Hyderabad-based Madhucon Projects are partners, it added.

The concession period for the project is 23 years and 9 months.

Also known as Western peripheral expressway project, the work on will start this month and when completed it will also provide faster access to the International and domestic airports at Delhi for cities in Haryana.

DS Cosntructions, which had earlier built Delhi-Gurgaon expressway, said the new expressway will intersect national highways (NH)-1 near Kundli (Sonipat), NH-10 near Bahadurgarh, NH-8 at Manesar (Gurgaon) and NH-2 near Palwal (Faridabad).
http://news.webindia123.com/news/showdetails.asp?id=249746&cat=India

http://img86.imageshack.us/img86/4091/imageloader39fd.jpg

Caption: Mr Narayan Raju Alluri, Director, Nagarjuna Construction Company infront of the model of 9 km of elevated toll Expressway projet on Banglore-Hosur section of NH-7 displayed at a press conference in Bangalore on January 27, 2006. Photo: GRN somashekar

Which is India's busiest highway section? Chennai-Bangalore? Somewhere in NCR?

i would have thought bombay-pune

probably Mumbai - Pune expressway...it currently handles approx 30,000 vehicles per day. and is capable of handling 100,000 vehicles per day when it was built.

I am pretty certain its New Delhi - Mumbai.

Delhi- Jaipur if your are considering short distance inter-city section which is also part of Delhi-Bombay route.

Delhi-Bombay (air)
Delhi-Bombay (rail)
Delhi-Bombay (Road)

Mumbai-Pune expressway to be extended (http://www.projectsmonitor.com/detailnews.asp?newsid=10565)

Four years after the commissioning of the Mumbai-Pune expressway, the Maharashtra government has decided to extend it from Kalamboli near Panvel to Sion. The extended stretch will reduce commuting time between Mumbai and Pune by 30 minutes. The proposal will be placed before the state Cabinet shortly.
Under the plan, the Panvel-Sion corridor will be widened, with dedicated lanes for heavy and light vehicles. Service roads will be built for entry and exit at various points.
MSRDC will undertake the expansion project. Work is expected to commence in March 2007 and complete by September 2008. The 22-km link will cost the government Rs 800 crore.

The new budget has monet set forth to build a national Expressway system(accessed controlled). They will be from the major.

The new budget has monet set forth to build a national Expressway system(accessed controlled). They will be from the major.

Some of what I found (nothing substantial but just references):

290 km access controlled Kolkata Dhanbad Expressway
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1060301/asp/calcutta/story_5907259.asp

545-km Mumbai Ahmedabad expressway
http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=171779

New Delhi Chandigarh Expressway
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1432922.cms

Bangalore Chennai Expressway
http://www.business-standard.com/common/storypage.php?storyflag=y&leftnm=lmnu2&leftindx=2&lselect=1&chklogin=N&autono=216928

thanks for putting the links together sun.

meanwhile, more on the budget. I think they've picked up the FM's speech on the sector and put his actual words here...

Wiring up India with highway networks (http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2006/03/01/stories/2006030101001800.htm)

The highest ever number and value of contracts were awarded in calendar 2005. I propose to enhance the Budget support for NHDP from Rs 9,320 crore to Rs 9,945 crore in 2006-07.

A special accelerated road development programme for the North Eastern region at an estimated cost of Rs 4,618 crore has been approved. For 2006-07, I propose to provide a sum of Rs 550 crore for this programme.

The Government has also decided to develop 1,000 km of access-controlled Expressways. These will be on new alignment and built on the design, build, finance and operate (DBFO) model. The sections that have been identified are Vadodara-Mumbai, Delhi-Chandigarh, Delhi-Jaipur, Delhi-Meerut, Delhi-Agra, Bangalore-Chennai and Kolkata-Dhanbad.

The concessionaires will be selected through an international competitive bidding process.

The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) will be restructured and made more effective. It will be made into a multi-disciplinary body with the capacity to handle a large number of PPP projects. New skill areas in planning and quality assurance, standardisation, arbitration, road-safety and R&D will be created.

The vested interests continue to dog this project. This land mafia is a curse on development. Since their efforts to mis-lead the courts is failing, they are now resorting to incite the public.....I wonder if any genuine persons would construct there knowing abt the e/way and also the publicity (-ve and +ve) going on for a decade now.
:bash:

Residents accuse NICE of illegal demolition

http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/mar32006/city192510200632.asp

DH News Service Bangalore:

Angry residents held a rasta roko to protest against the alleged demolition of private properties by Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise (NICE) at Gottigere on Bannerghatta Main Road on Thursday.

Traffic was brought to a grinding halt on the road for over six hours, forcing commuters to take long detours to avoid the dharna site.

Members of Environment Support Group (ESG), Dalit Sangharsha Samiti (DSS) and Anti-Land Acquisition Forum (ALAF) stopped the demolition work and shouted slogans against NICE and the police.

Their protest was on the grounds that NICE was deviating from the alignment cleared for the peripheral road segment of the project.

They also complained that the free flow of water into Gottigere tank will be obstructed by the new alignment.

“There has been excess acquisition and property owners have not even been served notice. This act is a blatant violation of the High Court Order dated December 22, 2005, in CCC 1623/2004, where NICE was instructed that it should follow the alignment approved in the CDP in 1995,” Vijay Raghav, an ALAF member said.

Mr Raghav, along with 12 others, lodged a complaint against NICE with the Bannerghatta police.

NICE clarifies

Meanwhile, a press release clarified that NICE has strictly adhered to the approved alignment. The release stated that “certain people with vested interests were misleading the public, in order to protect their illegal structures that have been constructed right in the middle of the alignment route.”

“They have constructed these structures despite several notices being served on them.

In fact, these persons have approached the Division Bench of Karnataka High Court several times, only to be struck down,” the release stated.

Nowadays it seems many people with vested interests become "environmentalists" to stall projects. Motives range from harrassing rival companies to extracting money and sometimes quick publicity.

the budge increase for NHDP isn't enough. just 600 crores more. something like 10500 crore would've probably been good. even that is far less than what china spends on highways every year.

but programs like JNURM, Bharat Nirman have gotten more allocation. especially Bharat Nirman's spending has increased by 51% to 18000 crores.

we can't expect a major change in urban infrastructure anytime soon except may be in select cities where local and state authorities are actively involved.

more involvment from state govts and local bodies is a must becuase to receive funding from JNURM and other such programs, applications and proposals mush be submitted and then only the centre will take action on that. only 7 cities have applied for JNURM till now. wonder what the major cities like Mumbai and Bangalore, which desperately need better infrastructure, are doing???????