Thanks all users for keeping us informed with the latest developments.
Going back to attitudes of the drivers in India again, I wonder why they will follow all the rules of the roads and not follow rules related to other aspects of day to day life. So growth will have to be overall in terms of their (our as well) willingness to follow rules strictly, maintain discipline and ability to be patient. :master:

Thanks all users for keeping us informed with the latest developments.
Going back to attitudes of the drivers in India again, I wonder why they will follow all the rules of the roads and not follow rules related to other aspects of day to day life. So growth will have to be overall in terms of their (our as well) willingness to follow rules strictly, maintain discipline and ability to be patient. :master:

saare,
road utilization lane discipline pressumes a lot of givens. among them homogenous modes, reasonable density, reasonable road capacity are some. in the indian situation you have a zillion bullock carts and zillion bmws sharing premium road space. if you were to be standing in lane in india here you'll be in a jam right out of your house.
this is not to say that indian drivers could not use some discipline, but it's not the stuff that'll yield to freudian analysis of the social pysche. you see the operative conditioning here is of katyayana, gaudapada, kanada et al.

HI Indian Soul

We Indians are strange. I won't comment on driving discipline in India but will quote another aspect of Indian discipline.

Have you ever been in a big commercial building in India? If not, on your next trip, you must experience it for yourself (hahaha). We actually QUEUE up for taking a lift. Every office-goer in that queue waits patiently for his / her turn and most of the time, the queues are regulated by security personnel or a 'gurkha' of the building.

Now if these office-goers were to step outside the confines of a very regulated office queue, all hell breaks loose and the scene is akin to commuters trying to get (too soft a word) into a train.

I will say this and will always say this... give Indians a better road environment and closely regulated lane discipline, with loads of interesting TV/media advertisements and people will learn. *** Has anyone driven on the Ahmedabad stretch of the expways? Anyone care to put down their experiences ? ***

The same irony is repeated in places like Singapore or in western countries. We will be gems of discipline but not at home.

The problem in India is that no one has really taken discipline (in majority of aspects) as a matter of major concern. Chalta Hei is the attitude.

Cheers
P2P4


Thanks all users for keeping us informed with the latest developments.
Going back to attitudes of the drivers in India again, I wonder why they will follow all the rules of the roads and not follow rules related to other aspects of day to day life. So growth will have to be overall in terms of their (our as well) willingness to follow rules strictly, maintain discipline and ability to be patient. :master:

Thanks Vadi and p2p4 very much for the lively discussion,
I am aware that there could be several ways to understand THIS PROBLEM in India (or 'models' as hardcore scientists would call them). One could look in to this in a much smaller individual level or in a bigger social level. Going back to issues of zillions slow moving vehicles like bullock cart, bicycle and so on on highways; again I suppose this is intricately related to development of rural india (particularly by the sides of the highways), to consider whether to give them dedicated lane by side roads (not on expressways of course), development of roads suitable for them ,alternative transport ,cost and priority etc. etc. You can pick up n number of issues. Are some of the 'road research instititues' in India learning from studies they might have done and whether they were fedback to policy makers and how they were dealt with? MANY QUESTIONS? :wallbash:
I will go into hibernation for some time as I think I have discussed here alot :runaway:

What is the reason that some forumers seem to think that the new roads are of poor quality? I also noted some forumers saying that lanes are being added later on (lack of planning). Is it hearsay or is it from experience?

I have travelled on two stretches of GQ and I thought that the quality was pretty good. Also the GQ will have all stretches as four laned and the high traffic routes as six laned.

What I though worry about is the maintenance part. That is an unexplored territory in India as we tend to fill it, shut it and forget it.

From what I understand, there is no median shoulder in most parts- I'm not saying that all roads in advanced countries have this, however the better ones do. Maybe you could shed some light as to whether the lanes have appropriate width and whether there are wide shoulders on either side. Also, a stretch of GQ recently collapsed. Moreover they have only fourlaned it. Why didn't they six lane the areas that needed it in the first place instead of having to go back?

Plus, how are the Emergency services for accidents?

what emergency services? lol

umm, sorry, but what is a median shoulder?

about the other points in your posts, the shoulders are about half a lane wide (2-wheeler lane you could say..) with another half lane width beyond that unpaved..

and as for 6-laning of parts that need it - entry/exit of all major/mid-sized cities and towns on the routes are 6-laned as part of the original project itself.. parts on the intercity stretches of road however haven't been conceived as 6-laned, although i would imagine it would be easier to widen a 4-lane highway to 6-lanes than a 2-lane to 4-lanes..

emergency services seem reasonable - we saw occassional emergency ambulances and highway patrols, and more importantly, no major accidents over 8000kms of driving which means either super-safe driving (yeah right!) or that emergency services are working effectively..

overall, i think it's a very well executed project by Indian standards, and not bad at all by any world standard you want to use as a benchmark..

GQ Pic (http://www.hinduonnet.com/gallery/0101/010116.htm)

Here is a link to a picture of a part of the GQ. They could have added another shoulder in the middle as some highways have.

Maybe I'm being picky, but thats one thing that could have been designed better. Though, in other pictures, it seems like that there is some space in the middle.

probably the only Emergency service on GQ Highways..not sure about the distance between these booths...though i think on the Mumbai-Pune highway such booths are at a distance of every 2 km and have 2 fully-equipped ambulances (Yellow Volvo buses )..i hope the GQ has similar services soon...

pic earlier posted indiansunite.

http://img413.imageshack.us/img413/3655/hi5dy8re4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

I jst came across this.....ALL INDIA EXPRESS HIGHWAY (http://inhome.rediff.com/money/2006/aug/18malaysia.htm)....either this is a big hoax or just plain stupid on the part of whoever involved.

An all-India express highway, thanks to Malaysia

August 18, 2006 02:46 IST

The Malaysian government will submit a detailed proposal for building an 'all-India express highway' to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the next few months.

A part of the total investment required for the project would be provided by Malaysian companies, said YB Dato S Samy Vellu, minister for works, Government of Malaysia.

Wht's the thing with malaysia?

However, the final plan for the all-India express highway project, including the estimate cost, will be completed shortly and is expected to be submitted to the Indian government in the next few months.

He suggested that Malaysian companies could bring in about 10 billion Ringgits with the government too sharing a portion of the project cost.

The remaining fund required could be mobilised through various sources, he said.

The expressway could be developed in phases. Malaysian government has suggested that in the initial phase, an expressway connecting southern capitals � Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Thiruvananthapuram � could be built.

Earlier, addressing the inaugural function, he said that Malaysia emerged as a key player in the construction sector globally in about 10 years.

It had, so far, earned about $9.4 billion by executing projects worldwide, with one-third of its revenue coming from India.


I mean the golden quadrilateral was concieved for exactly this purpose...to connect the whole country.

And where the hell are they going to get the funds from. It's not a joke to aquire funds for such a enormous project. Wht abt the land aquisitions?

And how are they going to complete it when the ongoing projects themseves are taking some time?

may be the NSEW corridor (where the work did not kick off) can be access controlled expressway..

Hahahaha..... :cheers: :bash: :runaway: :scouserd: :eek2:

Buddy, it's all PAALITEEKS... the BJP gave us Golden Quadrilateral right? Now the congress wants All India Expressway.

I still can't stop laughing.. but thats the way it is about Indian politics. Every mofacking party wants to beat the previous parties efforts.

Enjoy the circus while you can.. for only in India can you find such jokers trying to come up with grandiose plans to uproot the previous party.

Cheers
p2p4




Wht's the thing with malaysia?


I mean the golden quadrilateral was concieved for exactly this purpose...to connect the whole country.

And where the hell are they going to get the funds from. It's not a joke to aquire funds for such a enormous project. Wht abt the land aquisitions?

And how are they going to complete it when the ongoing projects themseves are taking some time?[/QUOTE]

Got up from hibrnation p2p4.,
Unless they want to make a parallel expressway to GQ and NSEW, or alternatively on top of these. ha ha ha :toilet:

what else could you expect from the Congress government

um...Today I drove on NH7 from Bangalore to Hosur....And all of the sudden I see all of these signs saying elevated High Project and there is digging, construction, and pillars popping up everywhere??? I did not know how such project. and it says NHAI

http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=197066

Tokyo drift: PWD plans to build seven elevated corridors in Capital

Officials say move is required as Ring Roads will be choked in 5-6 years

Anubhuti Vishnoi

New Delhi, August 16: A number of flyovers, underpasses and Metro corridors are set to come up to ease traffic woes in the run-up to the Commonwealth Games, but the PWD is looking further ahead and has planned Tokyo-style elevated roads for the Capital. These seven elevated corridors (see box) which will crisscross Delhi are meant to take the load off Ring Road.

“All the corridors together will be some 85 km long... Besides the five main elevated corridors, there will be two other elevated sections to complete the missing links on the Outer Ring Road,’’ said a senior PWD official.



The project cost will run into a few thousand crore and we will involve global consultants for it, the official said.

“Though difficult to accomplish, the project is vital for Delhi as our surveys have shown that the Ring Road will be choked in another 5-6 years or so...” he added.

In addition, there will be a six-lane road over the Barapullah drain. Feasibility studies have partly been done for the east-west corridor from Rajghat to Punjabi Bagh, the most difficult section as it covers heavily congested areas. Feasibility studies will shortly be commissioned for other corridors.

Global players are keenly interested in the project which has a 10-year implementation deadline. An official says: “Since a project of this nature has not been implemented anywhere in the country before, we have to involve global firms. Firms from Australia, Malaysia and Germany have shown interest... However, we will not hand over the project entirely to an international firm as the cost will be too high. We will have an associate Indian firm as well.’’

While some of the corridors may be ready in time for the 2010 (Commonwealth) Games, this is a long term measure...”

I think an Expressway system is a great Idea. I still think that even with it there will still be a lot of traffic on the highways. IN the U.S where I live the Expressway runs right next to the 4-6 lane National Highway...Both are used. When I was in Malaysia and Thailand there was a national highway that also ran parallel to the expressway...both are used. ANd with India's growing traffic an expressway is needed. And it would be very costly to widen some of the exhisting national highways in areas near the city because a lot of development has happened next to them....Big companies near NH7 in Bangalore...

From what I understand, there is no median shoulder in most parts- I'm not saying that all roads in advanced countries have this, however the better ones do. Maybe you could shed some light as to whether the lanes have appropriate width and whether there are wide shoulders on either side. Also, a stretch of GQ recently collapsed. Moreover they have only fourlaned it. Why didn't they six lane the areas that needed it in the first place instead of having to go back?

Plus, how are the Emergency services for accidents?

Well on the stretches that I have driven, I didn't notice any shoulder to the right. Although I believe the Durgapur expressway had soft shoulder on the right. There was unpaved shoulder on the left.

The lane width seemed fine to me. Of course I didn't meaure it with a tape. If you have any tech questions you should just go and talk to a road engineer. They will surely know a lot more inside stuff.

I have heard of only one stretch of road collapse (near the Vivekananda Setu approach). That's a few kilometers out of 5000+ kms. It was being built by a Malaysian company. I have not seen the results of the investigation. But when I last went there, they already had alternate stretches functioning and were working on the collapsed stretch.

Four laning to six laning:

Remember these are mostly existing highways under use that are being expanded. So they will have to add lanes at a time and open them up as completed. So the roads will go from two lanes to four lanes (opened for traffic) to six lanes (where needed and where land is available).

I am not aware of emergency services quality. Government hospitals are themselves hard pressed to provide emergency services. I would say, if you are in a crash, you will probably make it to a hospital. Whether you make it alive is a different question.

Well on the stretches that I have driven, I didn't notice any shoulder to the right. Although I believe the Durgapur expressway had soft shoulder on the right. There was unpaved shoulder on the left.

The lane width seemed fine to me. Of course I didn't meaure it with a tape. If you have any tech questions you should just go and talk to a road engineer. They will surely know a lot more inside stuff.

I have heard of only one stretch of road collapse (near the Vivekananda Setu approach). That's a few kilometers out of 5000+ kms. It was being built by a Malaysian company. I have not seen the results of the investigation. But when I last went there, they already had alternate stretches functioning and were working on the collapsed stretch.

Four laning to six laning:

Remember these are mostly existing highways under use that are being expanded. So they will have to add lanes at a time and open them up as completed. So the roads will go from two lanes to four lanes (opened for traffic) to six lanes (where needed and where land is available).

I am not aware of emergency services quality. Government hospitals are themselves hard pressed to provide emergency services. I would say, if you are in a crash, you will probably make it to a hospital. Whether you make it alive is a different question.

When I went on NH-2 from Kolkata to Burdwan last year. From the pics I have taken (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=201820&page=6&pp=20), you will notice that the standards of the GQ are not uniform. The tolled stretch between Dankuni and Palsit (aka Durgapur expressway) has soft shoulders on the right and semi paved shoulders with guard rails on the left. This 60 km stretch is also mostly access controlled with about 5 diamond interchanges with local roads. There is only one at-grade intersection / pedestrian crossing with a traffic signal ! Also, there are a few places on the median,where you can take an U-turn. And there is fencing in some parts.

However, the Palsit - Burdwan stretch of the same road has kerbs on the median (which can cause a fatal crash in case of driver error) with paved / unpaved shoulder on the left. At-grade intersections are more common on this stretch. Fencing is not present at all.

The 4 lanes seemed adequate for the current volume of traffic. What is more needed is training truck drivers about the importance of keeping to one side of the road. On at least 3 occasions on one day we came accross 3 trucks coming from the opposite side on the right-lane. And one of them was actually taking a three point turn (aka K-turn) in the middle of the highway to turn around and head for an exit it had missed ! Also important is fencing to keep stray animals / villagers off. At one point I remember seeing a group of villagers gathered near the fence trying to break it apart.

Lack of enforcement is another problem I noticed. I did not see a single police patrol vehicle. There was no emergency call box or anything along the entire stretch. I am very much doubtful about the quality of emergency services.

Massive 50,000 crore Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) is being talked about. Surely it would have implications for the highways and road infrastructure of India (Hindustan Times, Delhi edition, 21/08/06, page 2). Anybody has more information?

There you go Indian_Soul

Urban Renewal Mission a rich Harvest

Multinational Consultants line up for big bucksto be spent on JNUURM

http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/7069/j1rc4.jpg

Thanks Indiansunite,
I went through the article, did not want to copy it as such, but wanted know more about the nature of projects and the 17 cities mentioned. It looks interesting-

Click here (http://urbanindia.nic.in/moud/programme/ud/jnnurm/projects_approved.pdf) for the projects approved-city wise.[Opens with Adobe Acrobat]

Click here (http://urbanindia.nic.in/moud/programme/ud/jnnurm/projects_under_appraisal.pdf) for the projects under appraisal.[Opens with Adobe Acrobat]

You can also have a look at the main site here (http://urbanindia.nic.in/moud/programme/ud/jnnurm.htm)

Cheers

THANKS

Now, they have started inaugurating loop by loop, what a joke !!!

2nd loop from flyover is open, will decongest Airport Road

http://img247.imageshack.us/img247/6137/tn3yd6.th.jpg (http://img247.imageshack.us/my.php?image=tn3yd6.jpg)

http://deccanherald.com/deccanherald/aug222006/city2128342006821.asp

haha,I hate these inaugarations! Did you take that picture? If you did,can you enlarge it?

haha,I hate these inaugarations! Did you take that picture? If you did,can you enlarge it?

No, I didn't. It was on Deccan herald. Uploaded larger pic.

Thanks Aryabhatta for the larger image.

---------------------------

Bangalore Airport Expressway
Expressway to ease traffic snarls



An expressway will be laid from Outer Ring Road to Devanahalli to handle traffic snarls likely to come up with the development of Bangalore International Airport.
The decision was taken by an empowered committee on infrastructure.The expressway will be a link road between the airport and the city. The alignment for the expressway has been identified, which will start from Nagavara at Outer Ring Road to Devanahalli running through Peripheral Ring Road.
The expressway will be a four lane, 30 km access-controlled road, with a width of 100 metres. It will be developed by the Bangalore Metropolitan Regional Development Authority. About 300 acres will be acquired at an estimated cost between Rs 300 crore and Rs 500 crore. Since the expressway runs through Peripheral Ring Road, it will be linked to NH-7.
http://projectsmonitor.com/detailnews.asp?newsid=12006&secid=41

Well on the stretches that I have driven, I didn't notice any shoulder to the right. Although I believe the Durgapur expressway had soft shoulder on the right. There was unpaved shoulder on the left.



Sun, is 'Median shoulder' the recessed or additional lane carved out of the median to accomodate those vehicles which are taking a U Turn? There is no need of such in expressways since the lane changes would be through interchanges. But in NHDP highways it is a needed. I think it is needed even in city roads. I have seen such design in Dubai roads.

The fast moving vehicles would be occupying the right lane, in a four lane highway. Near a gap in the median, where U Turn is permitted, vehicles would be slowing down or stopping for the turn. This is dangerous for the speeding vehicle from behind. If there is a 'median shoulder' or whatever it is, to accomodate the vehicle taking a turn, it would enable the smooth movement of vehicle from behind.

I have seen NHDP sections with this facility, like Tambaram-Thindivanam section near Chennai. Here the width of the central median gets reduced to accomadate one lane for the turning vehicles.

I have seen the DPR of the Kazhakuttom-TN border stretch of Trivandrum Bypass. The drawings incorporates all these design features, including truck lay-by's, bus bays, stops, increased number of lanes near junctions (some marked as 'Accelatating/deccelarating' lanes etc. But older NHDP stretches were not done as per these standards, like Cherthala-Aluva in Kerala. There it is simply adding two lanes extra, with a median. What I find is that such stretches are not 'tolled'.

I liked the Tambaram-Tindivanam stretch, which is a tolled one, with landscaping, lighting in most parts etc. But only problem is the 'stick to right lane' attitude of slowmoving trucks & buses.

The new highway will be thrown open to traffic tomorrow. The highway to be commissioned tomorrow will reduce travel time to 2 hours

This report talks of the existing State Highway - not the BMIC. However, many bridges on the route have not yet been widened. Wouldn't that cause bottlenecks and potential accident hazards, specially during night travel?

# A detailed project report has been submitted to upgrade the road from Jnanabharati to Srirangapatna Circle from four-lane to six-lane
# This will include service lanes on either side of the roads for slow traffic

http://www.hindu.com/2006/08/30/images/2006083007330501.jpg


http://www.hindu.com/2006/08/30/stories/2006083007330500.htm

BANGALORE: The four-lane highway between Bangalore and Mysore would be thrown open to traffic on Thursday, said Ramesh Zalki, Managing Director of Karnataka Road Development Corporation. It will be inaugurated by the Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy.

At a press conference on Tuesday, Mr. Zalki said the new highway would reduce travel time between Bangalore and Mysore from three-and-a-half to two hours. Nandi Infrastructure was also building a road between Bangalore and Mysore, but it would a toll road, he said.

A detailed project report had been submitted to the Government to upgrade the road from Jnanabharati to Srirangapatna Circle from four-lane to six-lane.

Service lanes

This would include service lanes on either side of the roads for slow traffic, he added. Mr. Zaki said that detailed project reports had also been prepared for developing bypasses from Mysore Ring Road to Kengeri, Bidadi, Ramanagar, Channapatna, Maddur, Mandya and Srirangapatna. The State Government had taken up the project to widen the 112-km. road between Bangalore and Mysore in 2004 when the density of traffic on the highway became very high. This not only prolonged the journey time, but also contributed to accidents, he added. Traffic density on the road is now estimated to be 18,000 to 20,000 passenger vehicles a day.

"With a median in between the widened four-lane highway, which is designed for speeds of 100 km an hour, people can glide into Mysore in two hours," Mr. Zalki said.

The first phase of the project — 62 km from Jnanabharati to Maddur — was entrusted to Brindavan Infrastructure Company on a deferred payment basis. The cost of the phase was Rs. 188 crore.

Second phase

The contract for the second phase from Maddur to Mysore Ring Road to Soma enterprises for Rs. 116 crore, he said.

Work on both the phases had almost been completed. But some work still need to be completed in Ramnagara and Channapatna, Mr. Zalki said.

The project would involve construction of four major bridges over Lokapavani, Cauvery and Paschimavahini rivers, and 23 minor bridges, straightening of 19 curves and 22 bus bays, he added.

I didn't really know this was going on but I saw construction work and signs everywhere and pillars being layed.... This is NH7 from Bangalore-Hosur. I took these pics while going to Hosur. I had no idea of works on elevated expressway.
http://i8.tinypic.com/263fynq.jpg

That big white thing is what they use to lay pillars deep in the ground without digging.
http://i7.tinypic.com/263g0md.jpg

Thanks Aryabhatta for the larger image.

---------------------------

Bangalore Airport Expressway
Expressway to ease traffic snarls

Whoa! I gave this new a whole 6 days before!!! haha (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpost.php?p=9669795&postcount=70)
I just got back from Bangalore International Airport site. They are really prepared for the future. when all phases are done 41 gates are planned and 41 parking places for planes without gates. Much more moving space than hyderabad. 2 rail lines are planned to go to it. they will be both metro or metro and highspeed dedicated... also a dedicated expressway to orr from airport are being talked about and likely. the existing national highway is being 8 laned and a lot of it is access controlled with many flyovers coming up. (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpost.php?p=9669795&postcount=70)

Can someone tell me why is blr-mysore a state highway and not a nh?

Usually highways that connect two cities within a state are not designated as national highways. National highways usually at least touch two states (or even if they don't, they form a part of an important interstate corridor or are a connector from a major transportation hub like a port to a national highway).

Sridhar can you give me a list of such high traffic corridors that are note NHs?
Bangalore - Mysore SH
Chennai - Pondy ECR

I would like to include it in my India road map.
Btw why on earth are there so many NHs in Bihar? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_National_Highways_in_India#Bihar

How ironical !!! and funny. Looks like the Kenyans have never been to India :)

India offers infrastructural support to Kenya

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshowcnews/1967384.cms

India has offered full assistance to Kenya in various infrastructure and public works, like roads, ports, railways, airports, power generation and IT. A Kenyan delegation headed by minister of roads and public works, Simeon Nyachae, met Mr T R Baalu, union minister for shipping, road transport and highways to discuss technical co-operation, particularly in the road sector.

How ironical !!! and funny. Looks like the Kenyans have never been to India :)


Well, look as bad as Indian infra is, it's even worse in most African countries, incl. Kenya.

Its like the drunkard preaching good health :)

Import resources and tech from outside and offer the same to Kenya ?? Sounds funny but I am sure there is something more than we read in these reports.

Well, look as bad as Indian infra is, it's even worse in most African countries, incl. Kenya.

Deleted, sorry

PM:

I don't have such a ready made list.

Sridhar can you give me a list of such high traffic corridors that are note NHs?
Bangalore - Mysore SH
Chennai - Pondy ECR

I would like to include it in my India road map.
Btw why on earth are there so many NHs in Bihar? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_National_Highways_in_India#Bihar

Though Chennai - Pondy/Cuddalore road was developed by the state govt and is popularly known as ECR, it is designated as NH45a, it actually runs up to Nagapatinam. I have seen the road numbers in the milestones.

I think there was a time when Indian companies did do a lot of work in road, bridge and railway construction plus building of factories, office and residential blocks. Not sure whether that has died down now.

I know at least four companies who have done a lot of work which many Indians may not be aware of

DCL

http://www.dclgroup.com/
http://www.dclgroup.com/globalexposure.htm

MN Dastur and Co

http://www.dasturco.co.in/
http://www.dasturco.co.in/expintcon.asp

L&T ECC

http://www.lntecc.com/html/international_projects.htm

CES

http://www.cesinter.com/

I am sure there are plenty of other companies.

I think there was a time when Indian companies did do a lot of work in road, bridge and railway construction plus building of factories, office and residential blocks. Not sure whether that has died down now.

I know at least four companies who have done a lot of work which many Indians may not be aware of

DCL

http://www.dclgroup.com/
http://www.dclgroup.com/globalexposure.htm

MN Dastur and Co

http://www.dasturco.co.in/
http://www.dasturco.co.in/expintcon.asp

L&T ECC

http://www.lntecc.com/html/international_projects.htm

CES

http://www.cesinter.com/

I am sure there are plenty of other companies.

Gammon India - the company which can claim for the largest numbers of bridges and flyovers built in India

Some info about earnings by Indian project contractors..

http://www.projectexports.com/export_project_performance.htm

Gammon India - the company which can claim for the largest numbers of bridges and flyovers built in India

yes Gammon has done some international work also.

Then there is IRCON International

http://www.irconinternational.com/

L&T has done a lot!! in the last 60 years...big projects!!!

Lets not confuse the expertise of Indian companies with the incompetence of our government. When the Government says it is offering Indian support, it means it is offering the expertise of these competent companies, and not its own red tape.

Indian infra looks like crap not because our private sector, and much of our public sector, can't provide the services, but because our governments don't have a will to make a change.

Many of the companies listed below have a strong goodwill in neighboring countries, and have implemented projects all across the globe. Heck even the glorious AAI built airports in foreign lands some decades ago!

A quick search shows the following foreign projects by the AAI (from http://civilaviation.nic.in/aai/airport.htm#FOREIGN PROJECTS)

Project Name Country Cost (Million US $)

Ghat Airport Libya 70.20
Brak Apt. Project Stage I Libya 25.17
Brak Apt. Project Stage II Libya 41.60

Hulule Apt. Project Maldives 11.00

Riyan Apt. Project Yemen 25.69
Al-Ghaidha Apt. Project Yemen 23.64
Al-Ghaidha Apt. Project Yemen 23.64

Batna Apt. Project Algeria 10.00

Extn. Of Runway Nauru 0.096

Moders’n-Plaissance Airport Mauritius 0.04

Upgradation – HAL Airport India 0.8
I.G. National Flying Academy India 10.33

They've also provided training to airport staffs in Afganistan, Iraq, Libya, Male, Nauru, Nepal, Nigeria, and Zambia.

Though Chennai - Pondy/Cuddalore road was developed by the state govt and is popularly known as ECR, it is designated as NH45a, it actually runs up to Nagapatinam. I have seen the road numbers in the milestones.
The villupuram-pondy-nagapatinnam stretch is nh45a, not chennai pondy.

I am pretty sure it will be access controlled...expressway
Six-Lane Highway To Surat: The Vadodara-Surat stretch of National Highway No. 8 will be sixlaned soon. Work will start in January 2007 and is expected to be completed in 30 months. The 148-km road will have close-circuit television cameras, emergency communication systems every two kilometers, weather stations and rest areas. The Vadodara-Bharuch portion (83 kms) will be built by L&T Tollway Ltd. and a consortium led by IDAA Infrastructure Ltd. will build the Bharuch-Surat section (65 kms). This stretch has the highest traffic density in India.

I am pretty sure it will be access controlled...expressway
Six-Lane Highway To Surat: The Vadodara-Surat stretch of National Highway No. 8 will be sixlaned soon. Work will start in January 2007 and is expected to be completed in 30 months. The 148-km road will have close-circuit television cameras, emergency communication systems every two kilometers, weather stations and rest areas. The Vadodara-Bharuch portion (83 kms) will be built by L&T Tollway Ltd. and a consortium led by IDAA Infrastructure Ltd. will build the Bharuch-Surat section (65 kms). This stretch has the highest traffic density in India.

The Surat-Vadodara Road was pretty messed up last time I travelled(around 6 week ago). The road was badly hampered because of rain:(. I hope they repair it as soon as possible.
The road from Surat to Mumbai is awesome especially in monsoon (was driving at a speed of 150km/hr :scouserd: ) .
Vadodara-Ahemdabad expressway stretch is boring(There wasn't much traffic or it seemed so).I was driving at 160km/hr on the 8 lane highway (My 75 yr old grandmom can go upto 120km/hr with ease on that road).

Hi, does anyone recall the Mumbai Midday picture from July, of the Western Express Highway one year after the 2005 floods ? It was a before and after picture of the section of road, showing a nicely manifured section in July this year. I tried to access it off the newspaper site, but it is apparently no longer there. If someone could post it on imageshack, it would be great. Thanks!

from toi

http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/getimage.dll?path=TOIM/2006/07/26/4/Img/Pc0041300.jpg

Six-laning of Vadodara-Mumbai NH soon


Vadodara, Sept. 25 (PTI): The six-laning of Vadodara-Mumbai section of National Highway No 8 will be taken up at an estimated cost of about Rs 3200 crores, Minister of State for Road Transport K H Muniyappa said here today.

Muniyappa is here to inspect the repair work being carried out on Vadodara-Bharuch section of the NH-8 following damages caused by heavy rains.

Muniyappa said that the work on 153 km stretch between Vadodara and Surat will start soon and contracts have already been awarded for the purpose.

The project of six-laning of Surat-Mumbai stretch of national highway No 8, which connects New Delhi and Mumbai, will also be undertaken soon as negotiations are going on. The project may cost over Rs 2,000 crores, Muniyappa said.

He said 90 per cent work on 5846 quadriplicate project launched during previous NDA regime has been completed. Under this project, Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkatta are interconnected with road links, he said.

The govt is thinking on setting up of trauma centres on express way and national highways to enable road accidents victims get treatment, the minister said. The ministry is also planning to plant large number of fruit bearing trees on both sides of the roads.
http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/002200609251211.html



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Ahmedabad - Mumbai in five hours by road

If everything goes well with the Union Government plan, within three years one will be able to reach Mumbai from Ahmedabad within five hours. This was indicated by Minister of State for Shipping Road Transport and Highways, K.H. Muniyappa here today.

He said that within next two years work on six-lane Vadodara - Surat highway will be completed and within three years Surat - Dahisar project will be over. After this anyone traveling at a speed of 100 kmph will reach Mumbai within five hours.

The minister said that service road will be provided along with Ahmedabad-Vadodara express way. He said that this decision has been taken and the work will be taken up after detailed project report.

He said that work of Vadodara – Surat highway has already been awarded to L&T. It involves an expenditure of 1150 crore. Against this National Highway Authority of India has received negative grant of Rs.950 crore, which is the highest ever, amount received by it. It will be into two parts, Vadodara – Bharuch and Bharuch – Surat. The work will be done simultaneously, he said.

About other projects in the state he said that the NHAI has agreed to make NH-8B a four-lane highway provided State Government makes the area free of all encroachments. Gandhidham to Mundra port NH-8A has been selected for up gradation to four-lane.
http://www.gujaratglobal.com/nextSub.php?id=1631&cattype=NEWS

Thanks BombayBoy! The pic I'm referring to was similar to that one, but much bigger, and also looked a little better. It seems no one cached it though, including me.

Defence gives land for Dhaula Kuan project (http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=202193)

The Ministry of Defence today formally transferred land to the Government of Delhi for the Dhaula Kuan grade separator project.

The Ministry approved transfer of 8.6 acres of Defence and Delhi Cantonment land to the Government of NCT of Delhi for the construction of the Dhaula Kuan flyover. Another 0.8065 acre area was transferred to PWD for improvement of the intersection at T-junction of National Highway No. 8 (Delhi-Jaipur) and station road at Delhi cantonment. 5.394 acres of Ordinance Depot land at Shakarpur Basti was also formally approved as part of the construction of road number 43 — the missing link between Ring road at Britannia Chowk and outer Ring road near Deepali Chowk.

This Master Plan road is 5.25 km long and crosses through Shakurbasti, Pitampura and the Mangolpuri Industrial area phase II.

The Dhaula Kuan grade separator as well as road No. 43 are both completed and open to traffic for over a year now.

Officials said that while a part of the area near Dhaula Kuan is being developed by the National Highway Authority of India, the Government was also looking at the revamping of the entire area at Dhaula Kuan and the approach roads to the airport in preparation for the Commonwealth Games.

Top firms in Ludhiana Ring Road project

PM News Bureau

Ludhiana, Punjab, will soon get a 62.5-km Ring Road at an estimated cost of Rs 1,200 crore. Several construction majors have evinced interest in this project. The 15 applicants that have submitted EOI include Reliance Energy, L&T, Gammon India & Gammon Infrastructure Projects, GMR Energy & GMR Power Corporation, Unitech, Emaar MGF, Oberoi Construction and IVRCL.
Punjab Urban Development Authority has identified the entire stretch of 1,000 acres required for the project, and alignments have been finalised. The process of land acquisition will begin shortly. A master plan for the project has been prepared to ensure development around the Ring Road.
The Ring Road is expected to not only decongest Ludhiana's roads but also provide a bypass to vehicles on NH-1 and NH-95. The Ring Road will touch Chandigarh Road, Ambala Road, Ferozepur Road and Jalandhar Road.
PUDA is in the process of applying to the centre for viability capital funding.

http://www.projectsmonitor.com/detailnews.asp?newsid=12242&secid=41

Road development work starts in North-East



Projects would enhance employment potential

NEW DELHI: Union Minister for Shipping, Road Transport and Highways T.R. Baalu on Thursday said that work under the Special Accelerated Road Development Programme (SARDP-NE) in the North-Eastern Region covering 7,616 km of roads of various categories has begun in right earnest.

Addressing Members of the Parliamentary Consultative Committee attached to his Ministry here, the Minister said the Border Roads Organisation and the Assam Public Works Department would be starting works during the current year on Phase `A' of the programme covering 1,310 km of roads at an investment of Rs. 4, 618 crore, which has already been approved by the Government for implementation. Under Phase `B' of the programme, 6,306 km of roads have been approved for preparation of the Detailed Project Reports, he added.

Mr. Baalu said the 678-km length of the four-lane North-East Corridor under NHDP Phase-II fell in Assam and the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) had already started work on it. He said contracts for a 629-km length had been awarded at a project cost of Rs. 5, 218 crore.

The Minister informed the Members that recognising the need to connect Capitals of States of the Region with four-lane National Highways, 1,246 km of various National Highways had been identified for four-laning connecting Agartala, Aizawl, Imphal and Itanagar under the NHDP Phase III-B. Four-lane connectivity to Kohima and Shillong and improvement of the Sevoke-Gangtok National Highway to two-lane with paved shoulders was proposed under Phase `A' of SARDP-NE and Guwahati would get connected through the four-lane East-West Corridor.

He expressed satisfaction that, out of the total 6,880 km length of the National Highways in the NE Region, 5,170 km has been covered for improvement under various specific programmes launched by the Central Government, which is a better scenario than the all-India picture.

Referring to the several difficulties in the implementation of these programmes, he said an inadequately developed local contracting industry and lack of equipment caused delay, and the outside contractors were generally reluctant because of these problems.

http://www.hindu.com/2006/09/30/stories/2006093013340300.htm

Read more about the Four laning of Highways to connect N-E Capitals Here (http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/002200609290311.htm)

Top firms in Ludhiana Ring Road project

Will this thing be grade-seperated? I hope so.

looking at the cost @1200 crores,looks like a grade seperator to me :)

That will make it India's 3rd grade-seperated orbital motorway after (in order of completion), a: Hyderabad ORR, b: Delhi Capital Peripheral (KMP + Eastern Peripheral).

True..

Any news on KMP&EPE expressways?

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/09/30/world/main2054062.shtml
5 Killed In Canadian Highway Collapse
LAVAL, Quebec, Oct. 1, 2006
(AP) At least five people were crushed to death in their cars after the collapse of an overpass near Montreal, Quebec provincial police said Sunday.

There appeared to have been some advance warning signs of trouble with the overpass in Laval, part of the Greater Montreal Area. One witness told TVA television network that he noticed the road had sunk an inch or two when he traveled over the overpass minutes before the collapse and he called emergency dispatchers.

An inspector from Transport Quebec, the provinces transportation ministry, was sent to the site about 30 minutes before the tragedy but the overpass remained open. Transport Quebec spokeswoman Josee Seguin said the department heard about an hour before the accident that some pieces of concrete were falling off the overpass. She said Transport Quebec then issued an advisory to traffic reporters on the debris.

Not long after that, a 65-foot stretch of three lanes of a viaduct collapsed, sending several other vehicles crashing onto Highway 19 below.

"It is a viaduct that had never, until now, shown any signs of weakness," said Laval Mayor Gilles Vaillancourt. "It wasn't on the list of viaducts and bridges that needed to be repaired or replaced."

Seguin said the overpass was built in 1970. Vaillancourt said it had passed an inspection test last year.

The crushed cars were pulled out about 15 hours after Saturday's dramatic lunchtime accident. Firefighters and other workers had to use cranes and other heavy machinery to painstakingly break up the concrete into as many as 18 huge slabs, including a pedestrian sidewalk.

Vehicles were crushed so badly they barely reached the knees of one firefighter when lifted from under tons of concrete rubble Sunday.

Three people were found in one car and two other bodies were recovered from the other car trapped by the falling concrete, police spokeswoman Isabelle Gendron said.

"At this point, the rescue operation is completed," Gendron said, noting that no other vehicles were trapped beneath the concrete.

Police said six people were injured, including two who were listed in critical condition, when a minivan and a motorcycle plunged off the overpass.

Doctors at Sacre-Coeur Hospital in Montreal said some of those injured had improved overnight but gave no further details.

Robert Hotte, one of the injured, was driving over the viaduct when the road in front of him began to disappear.

"I was wondering ... what is happening," he said. "As we went down with the bridge, my first words were to say 'Anne-Marie,' the name of my girlfriend. We went down, falling with the bridge. It was all dark."

The vehicle crashed into the debris below, landing on the passenger side window. The two crawled out a window, waiting for a few minutes in a police car for an ambulance to arrive and take them to the hospital.

Hotte suffered minor injuries and was released after X-rays. His girlfriend remained in the hospital in stable condition on Sunday with some internal bleeding, Hotte said.

It was the second serious overpass collapse in Laval in the last six years.

In 2000, a man died when a section of overpass that had been under construction for six months collapsed and eight 70-ton beams fell on the car he was riding in.

A coroner's report later concluded a construction company did not properly secure the concrete beams, and accused the province's construction industry of shoddy work and questionable corporate practices.
are the Indian highways and overpasses safe?

Forget overpasses,seems like these days sections of flyovers are collapsing in Mumbai. :down:

Read more here-> Today’s flyover are falling down, yesterday’s still stand! (http://www.cybernoon.com/DisplayArticle.asp?section=fromthepress&subsection=inbombay&xfile=September2006_inbombay_standard10836)

http://i9.tinypic.com/2zq9daa.jpg
NEW WAY: A duct under the Chennai IT highway starting from Madhya Kailash will go all the way through till Siruseri. Electrical and communication cables will be laid in it

http://i10.tinypic.com/44bvokg.jpg
WORK IN PROGRESS: A service duct constructed as an underground corridor, starting from the Madhya Kailash Temple junction, for laying electrical and communication cables to facilitate maintenance work

The first 3-km stretch of the Information Technology corridor between the Madhya Kailash Temple junction and the Velachery road junction is nearing completion and will be formally commissioned by October end.

It is part of phase I of the 20-km IT expressway on the Old Mamallapuram Road (OMR).

The work, which commenced in April last, was slow for nearly 15 months, largely on account of a delay in land acquisition, shifting of utilities and poor mobilisation of resources by the contractor, a Malaysian firm selected through a competitive bidding process.

Visible improvements were seen from June this year.

The 205-crore phase I work is being implemented by IT Expressway Limited (ITEL), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Tamil Nadu Road Development Company (TNRDC).

A sum of Rs.12.5 crore was made available to the project under the ASIDE scheme of the Union Ministry of Commerce. The State Government contributed Rs.21.5 crore.

The cost of shifting of utilities worth Rs.56 crore, including cost of construction of service ducts/trenches, was funded by telecom service providers and the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board.

Explaining the status of the progress of the road works, K. Malmarugan, Vice-President, New Initiatives of the TNRDC, said that apart from the 41 metre six-lane right of carriageway, the IT corridor road would have a specially designed median, planter strips, a service road, a lane for non-motorised vehicles and a pedestrian footpath and extensive green cover.

Exclusive lane

The concept of lane for non-motorised vehicles of 2.5 metre on either side was being re-introduced in the city. The lane would facilitate evacuation of slow-moving vehicles away from the main carriageway, ensuring smooth flow of vehicular traffic, said Sabina Narayan, Design and Community Development Coordinator of TNRDC.

No need to dig

The highlight of the IT expressway would be that there would be no digging/damage by service/utility providers.

A walk-able service duct corridor/trench corridor was being laid for the entire IT corridor road from Madhya Kailash to Siruseri. Connecting pipes were laid to run cables and other wires of utility services across the road.

Provisions were incorporated in the Partnership and Development Agreement (PDA) for ensuring that the road was free from digging/damage for 30 years.

NHAI,In Growth Mode,To restructure

Via HT Delhi Oct3


THE CENTRE has decided to restructure the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) into a multidisciplinary professional body, bringing in financial management and contract management expertise into a bureaucratic organisation that has largely focused on evaluating bids and awarding contracts.

As the nation builds a criss-cross network of four-lane roads built with private contractors, the NHAI, as the fulcrum agency, is short of experts who can manage a crucial aspect of the nation's economic growth, officials say.

To give shape to a new structure, the Ministry of Surface Transport has prepared a draft note for the cabinet based on the suggestions of an inter-ministerial committee of secretaries to restructure the NHAI.

Among the 10 crucial issues that would be presented before the cabinet are the setting up of a ‘knowledge management system’ that would use past experiences in awarding bids to streamline future action; contract management; time, cost and quality performance of contractors; and the performance of design consultants in terms of abnormal variations. Under the new proposal, the NHAI's chairman would have a tenure of at least three years, which can be extended up to five. The retirement age of 62 can be relaxed if required for the chairman to fulfill the three-year tenure.

Currently, there is no fixed tenure for the post of the NHAI's chairman. The body is without a chair man after Santosh Nautiyal left office in July. The authority's Member (Finance), Satayanarayana Das, is currently officiating as chairman.

The government also proposes to name one more member in the NHAI on public-private partnerships, in addition to the current five who include one each to supervise finance, administration and technical functions and two members who look after projects. The note also proposes to increase the number of part-time members of the NHAI from four to six. Rajiv Lall managing director, IDFC Ltd, said NHAI needed a sophisticated mechanism to deal with private sector participation. “A public-private partnership in which the government has a weak mechanism and is not sophisticated enough to deal with private players is in for trouble," he said.

The note says the government will examine a proposal to empower NHAI, where required, to employ outside experts (with relaxation of age, if needed) specifically for the posts of financial analysts, transport economists, contract management specialists and legal experts on compensation.

HIGHWAY HIGHS National highways comprise only about two per cent of the total road length in the country and yet carry 40 per cent of the total traffic. The National Highways Development Project (NHDP), the country's largest-ever road project, is a major effort to enhance road capacity. Following is a status report on the programme, as on August 31, 2006.
http://img137.imageshack.us/img137/6609/highwaylz0.jpg

Govt OKs $9 bn road project: FM (http://www.financialexpress.com/latest_full_story.php?content_id=142493)

The Indian government will seek major private sector involvement in a Rs 412.1 billion project to widen 6,500 km (4,000 miles) of national highways, FM P Chidambaram said on Thursday.

Private companies would fund Rs 356.9 billion of the planned investment--over 85 per cent of the total--and they would be responsible for the design, building and financing of the projects, the government said in a statement.

In return they would operate the roads for a period of time before handing them over to the government. The government made no mention of how the companies would be able to recoup their investments or how long they would operate the roads.

"Upgradation of existing road will improve traffic safety and provide faster movement of vehicles with improved riding quality and time," Chidambaram said, adding it would also reduce fuel consumption and lower vehicle operating costs.

Good news .. I read this in the Telegraph today. One thought which will come to all is.. 'why in the world didn't they think of this earlier' !

THis is exactly what is wrong with 'modular planning'. If they had built the 6 lanes when work actually started, it could have saved additional costs, additional labor and additional traffic hindrances.

The solace is that if and when they finish widening these roads, they will (hopefully) be on par with international standards and the last point - please.. some nationalised consistency !

p2p4


Govt OKs $9 bn road project: FM (http://www.financialexpress.com/latest_full_story.php?content_id=142493)

Highway project hits dead end (http://www.indianexpress.com/story/14107.html)

New Delhi, October 5: The country’s ambitious National Highway Development Programme (NHDP) has hit a dead end. Half the fiscal has passed and the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) has not awarded a single project. For the full fiscal, it had set a target of awarding about 3,000 km of highway projects under NHDP phases II and III.

Private players and sources in NHAI blamed the new model concession agreement (MCA) for roads for the dramatic slowdown. For instance, capping hikes in toll rates at just 40 per cent of the wholesale price index against 100 per cent earlier made it lot less attractive for the players, they said.

Another clause makes it mandatory for NHAI to acquire 80 per cent of the land before awarding contracts. This makes it difficult for the authority in practical terms, which feels work may start once say 60 per cent of the land is acquired, and then acquisition can be completed in due course.Private players also said the MCA did not protect them against the flip side on traffic growth projections, and felt NHAI should be made to share the risk with them.

The MCA, it may be noted, took almost eight months to finalise, with serious differences of opinion between the Planning Commission and the ministry of road transport and highways. Gajendra Haldea, advisor (infrastructure), Planning Commission, was instrumental in pushing through the new norms (he has also copyrighted the document).

Some NHAI officials also pointed a finger at the PPP appraisal committee (PPP-AC) under the finance ministry that approves infrastructure projects. An NHAI official said though the authority had forwarded many projects, the committee had not met even once to discuss highway projects. Finance ministry sources, however, said the PPP-AC had received only one project from NHAI till September 15. “It was only in end September NHAI sent about 10 more projects,” an official said. The PPP-AC further cannot be held responsible for delay since it was bound to clear all proposals within a month, he added. When contacted, NHAI member (finance) Satyanarayan Dash said contracts were awarded in a phased manner: “In one year you see a large number of contracts being cleared, and another year being used mainly for implementation of works."

Badiya hai :wtf: ..:bow: :down:

Project delayed by another year, to be ready by 2007-end
Misses deadline for the second time; NHAI blames pvt firm for slow progress

Anubhuti Vishnoi

New Delhi, October 6: THE Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway is set to miss its deadline again. The ambitious project to make Delhi-Gurgaon a 15-minute drive along NH 8 will not be completed by December 2006, the revised deadline. Moreover, the project may well drag till 2007-end, according to senior NHAI officials.

The delay is being blamed on the slow progress by the private party constructing the Build-Operate-Transfer project for NHAI. The firm — a Jaypee DSC venture — had earlier assured that 90 per cent of the project would be ready by December this year. In fact, it had said a major part of the expressway would be in place by September, but it is nowhere near completion. Only two of the five flyovers slated to be ready by September have been opened to traffic so far.

Advertisement
“While most of the expressway is expected to be ready only by March next year, the last bit at RTR-Palam intersection will take at least six more months after that. The expressway, in totality, will only get ready by 2007-end, and not June 2007,” confirmed a senior NHAI official.

“The delay in the project is due to the slow progress by the concessionaire, and also due to rains which was not taken into account,” said a senior NHAI official.

However, DSC spokesperson Rafi Q Khan maintained that the project was still on track and “substantial completion” would be achieved by this December. “The Mahipalpur-IGI section has been a little delayed because certain design changes are being considered, we hope to finish it by February-March 2007. The delay at Udyog Vihar, IFFCO and South City is due to heavy traffic, but these will be ready by December,” said Khan.

The 27.7-km long expressway was originally scheduled to be completed in July 2005, but the deadline was revised to December 2006 keeping in view several revisions made by Delhi and Haryana governments. The cost of the project has escalated from Rs 550 crore to Rs 800 crore
http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=204149

God, that thing is taking FOREVER to get finished!

I hope the ORR won't end up like that (they may have to hand over the Russian contractor's work to the Taiwanese one)

“The delay in the project is due to the slow progress by the concessionaire, and also due to rains which was not taken into account,” said a senior NHAI official.

yes. its not like it rains every year does it. i mean how were we supposed to know

An Ahmedabad-Rajkot expressway soon?




Gandhinagar, october 10: On a project-conceiving spree, the Gujarat Infrastructure Development Board (GIDB), State Government’s infrastructure planning arm, has commissioned a pre-feasibility study to explore the possibility of an expressway between Ahmedabad and Rajkot. If found to be viable, the GIDB would seek approval from the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and invite bids. This, along with a coastal corridor connecting Bhavnagar to Navlakhi port through Rajula, Veraval, Porbandar, Dwarka, Okha, Bedi, and Jamnagar, would speed up Saurashtra’s much-delayed road integration with rest of the country.

Officials say that presently in the pre-feasibility stage, the proposed Rs 1,000 crore project to upgrade the present national highway between the two cities to an expressway would reduce the travel time between Saurashtra and Mumbai. With the Ahmedabad-Vadodara and Surat-Mumbai roads already complete, the Rajkot-Ahmedabad stretch would save up to 2 hours travel time.


“With the region seeing hectic industrial and marine activity, need is felt to conceive such a project. Though it’s too early to say by when it would come up, but we are studying the project. It would take some time to seek NHAI’s permission,” informed a senior GIDB official.
http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=204675

Where is Rajkot in relation to AMD?

http://img223.imageshack.us/img223/5087/gujaratkl7.jpg

Rajkot is West of AMD.

Karnataka proposes Rs 100 Mangalore-Hassan four-lane highway


Mangalore, Oct 12. (PTI): The Karnataka Government has proposed to construct a four-lane highway between the coastal city of Mangalore and Hassan at an estimated Rs 100 crore, looking to increase the connectivity to the port there.

The Karnataka Public Works Minister H D Revanna on Wednesday told reporters here that the proposal had been submitted to the central Minister of State for Highways T R Baalu .

Read more ->http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/004200610120314.htm

Via HT Delhi Oct12

http://img177.imageshack.us/img177/1146/kkyt5.jpg

I need a list of non-NHDP 4 lane roads which are not shown on this map http://www.nhai.org/PhaseIIIB.htm
Wanted to know how many 4lane highways we got.

I guess all the highways under the NHDP are there on the map. For a bigger view of the map- right click on the map and click 'view image'.

I wanted the 4lane highways not part of the NHDP. Like the BLR-Mysore highway which is not given on the map. Want the info for my roadway map.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/78/India_roadway_map.svg/1025px-India_roadway_map.svg.png (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/India_roadway_map.svg)

I wanted the 4lane highways not part of the NHDP. Like the BLR-Mysore highway which is not given on the map. Want the info for my roadway map.

Bro,There are NO 4-lane National Highways which are are NOT part of the NHDP.(Each and every 4 lane highway is under NHDP and shown on the NHAI map) and BTW the blr-Mysore highway is a State Highway and not a NH. Also the Nagpur-Raipur stratch of NH6 is 2 laned right now.

So basically if the highway is 4 laned then its under the NHDP..

Bro,There are NO 4-lane National Highways which are are NOT part of the NHDP.(Each and every 4 lane highway is under NHDP and shown on the NHAI map) and BTW the blr-Mysore highway is a State Highway and not a NH. Also the Nagpur-Raipur stratch of NH6 is 2 laned right now.

So basically if the highway is 4 laned then its under the NHDP..

I did ask for highways and not NH. If a road is 4laned, i want to include it in the map, be it a NH or a district road :) .
Im sure even Jamnagar is connected by a 4lane highway but not by a NH. If someone gave me a complete list of such roads, it would be very much appreciated.
Btw, the map includes phase IIIA which is due to be completed only by 2009 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Highways_Development_Project

Actually, even the claim that every single four-lane highway is under NHDP is incorrect. A ready example that comes to mind is NH45. It is a non-NHDP project undertaken by NHAI. Other examples include the Chennai Bypass, which is currently being four-laned by NHAI and officially has an NH designation (though the NH number is unclear as of now).

Planemad: you have to be specific about what you want to include and what you don't. Are intra-city highways included? Ring roads? Officially, the two ring roads in Delhi are six-lane highways, that carry designations of (state) highways. Anna Salai is officially a highway, maintained by the Highways Department again, and not the Chennai Corporation. So is the road leading up to the East Coast Road.

Some clarity on what you want to include in your map and what you want to exclude would allow for a more accurate listing of non-NHDP highways that are four (or six or eight) laned.

BTW, which are all the 8 laned highways or even inner-city roads in India? Here's a partial list

1. Western Express Highway - Mumbai
2. Eastern Express Highway - Mumbai
3. DND Flyway - Delhi/NOIDA
4. Delhi-Gurgaon expressway (under construction)
5. Rajarhat Road (?) - Kolkata

By eight lane, I am referring to eight main traffic lanes (i.e. excluding shoulders and service lanes).

I can't think of roads with more than eight lanes - are there any?

Excatly,planemad- you werent too specific while asking what you needed.

@Sridhar - 8 laning of a section of the ring road in Delhi began around 2 months ago.

Thanks, I forgot about that. So here is the list until now

1. Western Express Highway - Mumbai
2. Eastern Express Highway - Mumbai
3. DND Flyway - Delhi/NOIDA
4. Delhi-Gurgaon expressway (under construction)
5. Rajarhat Road (?) - Kolkata
6. Ring Road - Delhi

And I guess NH45 is included in the NHDP,check it out here-> http://nhai.org/images/june06/a1_m.jpg

It used to be listed under the non-NHDP projects. Perhaps it has been included later, or perhaps it is shown in the NHDP map without it being an NHDP project.

Added later: I just checked the NHAI website. It is listed under other projects even now (in the "Programmes->In progress" section for instance). Officially NHDP-I is the GQ, NHDP-II is NSEW, NHDP-III is the 10000kms highways (split into NHDP-IIIA and NHDP-IIIB) and NHDP-IV through VII are later projects (including the access-controlled expressways on new alignments, six-laning of major four-laned sections and two-laning of the currently single-lane NHs). NH-45 and several other project (including port connectivity) are officially not given an NHDP designation, though they are managed by NHAI too.

its ok yaar,I wouldnt really care about it being designated under any project. But what I do care about is that its a 4 laned highway. :)

Yup. Agreed on that. These are artificial designations anyway. Once planemad clarifies what he is looking for, a complete list of four-lane (or greater) highways can be made.

Some obvious inclusions I can think of right away (and I am listing only those that are upto NHAI standards - i.e. four lanes + min. 2 shoulders + median + improved intersections + service lanes in urban areas and some busy rural areas too). I am also excluding inner-city roads with highway designations.

Gujarat
1. Ahmedabad - Mehasana (SH)
2. Ahmedabad - Rajkot (SH - being planned)

Maharashtra
1. Pune-Nashik (NH?, could be partially SH)

TN
1. Chennai-Ennore expressway (SH u/c, will probably be redesignated as an NH since NHAI has taken it up)
2. Chennai Bypass expressway (NH u/c)

WB
1. Kolkata-Haldia expressway (SH planned)

Karnataka
1. Bangalore-Mysore highway (SH)

I am certain there are some either constructed or being planned in AP but don't remember offhand. I can dig up my archives if nobody else has the info.

Also,other 4 lane highways which werent on that map are-

1> NH8(Ajmer-Udaipur),Even though that part of NH8 is not under the Golden Quad,I believe they have made it into 4 lanes.
BTW they 4 laned NH79(Ajmer-Chittaurgarh) and designated it as part of the GQ.

2>Ahmedabad-Vadodara (NE1) which runs parallel to the 4 laned NH8.

3>In the map(Planemad's),you will notice Indore and on top of that Dewas(written in small font). That part of NH3 is 4 laned(I travelled on that wide stretch this summer)
Here's are some snaps of it.

http://img276.imageshack.us/img276/3491/dscn4433sb0.th.jpg (http://img276.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dscn4433sb0.jpg)
http://img163.imageshack.us/img163/3180/dscn4431eg0.th.jpg (http://img163.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dscn4431eg0.jpg)
http://img69.imageshack.us/img69/404/dscn4434as4.th.jpg (http://img69.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dscn4434as4.jpg)

Maharashtra
1. Pune-Nashik (NH?, could be partially SH)

NH50 - 4 laned and at some places 2 laned.

Thanks, I forgot about that. So here is the list until now

5. Rajarhat Road (?) - Kolkata


While I have read newspaper reports of 10 lane Rajarhat highway - currently it is six laned. There are two service lanes on either side and enough space for widening in the future.

OK. The list is back to five then.

1. Western Express Highway - Mumbai
2. Eastern Express Highway - Mumbai
3. DND Flyway - Delhi/NOIDA
4. Delhi-Gurgaon expressway (under construction)
5. Ring Road - Delhi

BTW, which are all the 8 laned highways or even inner-city roads in India? Here's a partial list

1. Western Express Highway - Mumbai
2. Eastern Express Highway - Mumbai
3. DND Flyway - Delhi/NOIDA
4. Delhi-Gurgaon expressway (under construction)
5. Rajarhat Road (?) - Kolkata

By eight lane, I am referring to eight main traffic lanes (i.e. excluding shoulders and service lanes).

I can't think of roads with more than eight lanes - are there any?

the WEH and EEH range from 8 to 16 lanes at places after the recent widening

some other roads are eight lanes also - marine drive, the road connecting dharavi and bkc, the approach road to the bwsl

While I have read newspaper reports of 10 lane Rajarhat highway - currently it is six laned. There are two service lanes on either side and enough space for widening in the future.


Sounds good, Sun. Please post pics if you have them. The road infrastructure in Rajarhat is important in the wake of all the investment being pumped into the area. I believe the proposed east west metro is expected to pass through rajarhat.

Thanks Sridhar, Indiansunite, Sun and BB for the info. My map was just to show national highways, but as i found out that there were other 4 laned roads, i wanted to include them too even though they are not NHs. Like you said, a 4 lane road is a 4 laned road no matter what. So, i want any stretch thats at least 30km long and has a median.

Does anyone know, where does NICE bangalore to mysore express-way stands today ?
The SH build has flawed big time, sharp curves and no paved shouldere, why would anyone
build highway without paved shoulder, eventuall the sides will start disintegrate during rain
and we all endup in single lane again

For safer roads, highway police & new rules (http://indianexpress.com/story/15085.html)

With more and more Indians taking the highway for long-distance travel and transport, the government panel on road safety policy is going to suggest a slew of measures including creation of safety boards and the formation of a specialized police force to enforce rules along the national highways.

The decision to have a separate, long-term policy on road safety was taken by the Committee on Infrastructure, headed by the prime minister, last year as it was felt that with better and broader road, there was a larger volume of vehicles of different categories travelling at much higher speeds, increasing the risk of accidents.

The prime minister has already earmarked a portion of the cess on petrol and diesel for road safety.

While recommending the creation of safety boards at the centre and state levels, sources said, the committee suggested the issues and areas that the board should address. For instance, it should lay down guidelines for even bicycle manufacturers to provide adequate reflectors and special paints that enable bicycles to be spotted in the dark.

The board would also be empowered to fix the minimum roadworthiness of a vehicle for plying on a highway. And it can ask automobile makers to provide minimum safety features, such as airbags, in their vehicles.

Keeping Indian conditions in mind, the report is also going to suggest the creation of special passageways (at critical points) for the safe movement of non-motorized traffic, including pedestrians.

While the model concession agreement, which is expected to be taken to the Cabinet with some amendments along with toll policy shortly, requires road operators to incorporate some safety features — such as disallowing hoardings along the highway — the recommendation on the new police force is on the lines of the railway police.

The police force would be responsible for enforcing highway rules but would not have the powers to make arrests for crimes on the roads. This, sources said, would be left to the local police.

As road safety also involves trauma care, the expert committee report has suggested that instead of opening such centres every say 50 km, the better option would be to equip district hospitals with the required facilities to deal with highway trauma cases.

the WEH and EEH range from 8 to 16 lanes at places after the recent widening

Where is it sixteen laned? Note that service lanes, slip roads etc. are not counted in the number of lanes. Only the traffic lanes in the main direction of the road are considered.

some other roads are eight lanes also - marine drive, the road connecting dharavi and bkc, the approach road to the bwsl
I have added the BWSL and BKC road to the list. Does the latter have a name. Also, another that I had forgotten about is the Sion Panvel highway, which has eight lanes in stretches.

I am not including Marine Drive since it has essentially 6 traffic lanes throughout its length. There are places where there is a parking lane. Correct me if I am wrong on this.

Here's the amended list of highways with eight (or more) traffic lanes
1. Western Express Highway - Mumbai
2. Eastern Express Highway - Mumbai
3. DND Flyway - Delhi/NOIDA
4. Delhi-Gurgaon expressway (under construction)
5. Rajarhat Road (?) - Kolkata
6. Bandra Worli Sea Link (partially complete) - Mumbai
7. Bandra Kurla Complex Road (?) - Mumbai
8. Sion - Panvel highway - Mumbai

^^ the Bangalore-Hosur BETL and HYD's ORR are 10 and 8 laned respectively..

or are you only considering projects nearing completion?

R u sure it's gonna be 10 elevated lanes?

The BETL Hosur Road expressway has four main traffic lanes. I am not including service lanes else many other roads will need to be included.

The Hyderabad ORR should be included, once the plans advance a bit. As of now, the engineering design is still pending.

They finalized Phase-1 a little while ago, so Phase-1 should eb included. Hopefully it'll open in Dec. 2007 (the rest will open in 2008...or so they claim)

They finalized Phase-1 a little while ago, so Phase-1 should eb included. Hopefully it'll open in Dec. 2007 (the rest will open in 2008...or so they claim)

Dec 2007 for the 1st 22km ? Would keep my fingers crossed - have not seen much progress of late on phase 1. Even if it opens by the time the first flight takes off in may 2008 it should be fine.

Kundli expressway in 3 years

136-Km, 4-Laned Highway To Host High-Speed Traffic, Have Tourist Spots
Dipak Kumar Dash | TNN

Gurgaon: Finally, there’s some good news for the harassed drivers jostling for space on Delhi’s roads. Construction of the 136-km Kundli-Manesar-Palwal Expressway is to begin next month and has to be completed within three years. This is expected to rid Delhi of at least half the traffic from other states passing through the city for other destinations.

The last hurdle was cleared with the Haryana State Industrial Development Corporation (HSIDC) holding public hearings for environmental impact assessment of the project in Gurgaon and Faridabad on Monday and Tuesday. HSIDC officials said the deadline has been set for November 2009 and sources at KMP Expressway, the developers, said they would try to complete it even earlier than that. ‘‘We have already moved machinery in order to complete the project ahead of the deadline,’’ said an official.

The HSIDC has already acquired land in a width of 100 metres along the alignment of the proposed expressway. It will take off from NH-1 near Kundli and intersect NH-10 at West Bahadurgarh and NH-8 near Manesar, finally joining NH-2 near Palwal. The expressway will be a dual carriageway with four lanes with a provision for widening it to six lanes. Hence, major traffic coming from Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan will no longer need to enter Delhi.

The expressway had been proposed following Supreme Court orders, on December 16, 2001 and July 15, 2002, that no heavy, medium and light goods vehicles on interstate routes would ply through Delhi. It had also ordered that there could be no corridor or bypass joining different national highways through the Capital.

The expressway will have grade separators at intersections. To keep this stretch exclusively for high-speed traffic, no slow moving or pedestrian traffic will be allowed on it.

At a later stage, land along the expressway will be acquired and tourist spots developed along the stretch. ‘‘These complexes won’t be visible from the main expressway as on highways in European countries. There will be indicators for food plazas and resting places for commuters. Roadside dhabas will not be allowed,’’ said a senior HSIDC official. As per the environment impact assessment report prepared by RITES for environmental enhancement along this stretch, greenery and water bodies will be developed. Truck parks, bus stops, rest areas and cultural properties will be created.

HURDLES CLEARED

Construction of 136-km expressway to begin next month
To be completed by November 2009
Land acquired and environmental impact assessment done
Dual carriageway with four lanes, provision for adding two more lanes
Only for high-speed traffic, provided with grade separators
Tourist spots to be developed along the stretch
Will reduce pollution, accidents in Delhi


http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/getimage.dll?path=CAP/2006/10/25/4/Img/Pc0042200.jpg

They finalized Phase-1 a little while ago, so Phase-1 should eb included. Hopefully it'll open in Dec. 2007 (the rest will open in 2008...or so they claim)

OK. Here's the updated list

1. Western Express Highway - Mumbai
2. Eastern Express Highway - Mumbai
3. DND Flyway - Delhi/NOIDA
4. Delhi-Gurgaon expressway (under construction)
5. Rajarhat Road (?) - Kolkata
6. Bandra Worli Sea Link (partially complete) - Mumbai
7. Bandra Kurla Complex Road (?) - Mumbai
8. Sion - Panvel highway - Mumbai
9. Hyderabad Outer Ring Road - Gachibowli to Shamsabad section

Check out the following link to see Ashok Kheny of BMIC-NICE talking about the project.

Click on 'Navigate Bangalore Faster' to go to the video

http://bangalorelive.sifymax.com/blive_more_video.php?cat_id=14148852

Ok so now we have things rolling.Thanks d_rk for that KMP expressway article. Here's an article for the EPE -->Eastern Peripheral Expressway

11 years on, mega bypass shows signs of taking off

NHAI to invite bids for Eastern Peripheral Expressway, officials hope work will start next year


NHAI to invite bids for Eastern Peripheral Expressway, officials hope work will start next year
Anubhuti Vishnoi

New Delhi, October 26: Eleven years after it was conceived, the countdown has begun for the Eastern Peripheral Expressway that aims at decongesting the Capital and regulating movement of goods vehicles by creating a mega bypass around Delhi.

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is set to invite bids for the 135-km long expressway which is scheduled to be completed before the 2010 Commonwealth Games. The project has been monitored by the Supreme Court-constituted Environment & Pollution Control Authority (EPCA) after the apex court approved of the project mechanism proposed by the Cabinet Secretariat in early 2005.

The six-lane divided-carriageway expressway passing through Faridabad and Kondli in Haryana and Noida and Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh will help ease some of Delhi’s congestion as traffic not destined for it will no longer have to pass through the capital.

“The Eastern Peripheral Expressway project is fully on track now. With the alignment finalised, the pre-qualification bids for the projects have been invited. The Detailed Project Report for it is already under process and will be ready in another three months by when we will also have appointed a consultant. Land acquisition is largely completed and will be through also in the same time period,” a senior NHAI official said.

“So by early next year, work will begin on the project which will be a Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) one. We will stick to the timeframe given by the Supreme Court. NHAI has completed land acquisition for the project in five districts and the process is currently on in another three districts...” the official added.

The expressway, linking SH-57, NH 58, NH 24 and NH 91 on the eastern side of Delhi, will have a design speed of 120 km/hour and be access-controlled. It will have three major bridges, two canal bridges, and six railway overbridges.[/b]

The expressway will have seven interchanges of eight lanes each through which small goods vehicles will be allowed to enter Delhi. There will be parking for trucks as well as traffic and medical aid posts, vehicle rescue posts and highway patrols.

Meanwhile, the Haryana State Industrial Development Corporation will start work next month on a 135-km long Western Peripheral Expressway starting from Kondli and extending to Palwal via Manesar.
http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=206812


Yay! So work on the KMP will begin next month! and then the EPE expressway will start next year to make another ring road around Delhi right before the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
The only thing is that KMP plans to be a 4 laned expressway which can be expanded to 6 lanes in the future while NHAI plans to make the EPE 6 laned.

some other roads are eight lanes also - marine drive, the road connecting dharavi and bkc, the approach road to the bwsl
The road that passes through dharavi is the Sion-Mahim link road. I think most of the arterial roads in Mumbai are 8 lanes. The ones not included in Sridhar's list are LBS Marg, JVLR (almost done except the stretch near IIT/Powai) and SCLR (under construction).

JVLR is definitely 6 lane, as is LBS marg though MUIP might widen the latter to 8 lanes. SCLR will have 8 lanes for a small part of its length once constructed (the rest will be 6-laned). 8 lanes of cars might squeeze into 6-lane roads (and that is true in Delhi too), but that does not make them 8 lane roads. As far as I know, there aren't other roads in Mumbai proper that are 8-laned.

I don't fully remember now, but the Thane Belapur road might also have eight lanes in stretches. I shall try and confirm this.

http://www.indianexpress.com/story/15353.html

National Highway crawls, contracts stuck as Ministries play blame game
Kandula SubramaniamPosted online: Wednesday, October 25, 2006

New Delhi, October 24: Differences on key policy issues between Ministries — from bidding norms to concession agreements — and the delay in sorting these out have once again derailed the schedule of the national highway programme with slippages in some sections being as high as 65 per cent. When it comes to spending, however, the program’s on track: close to 70% of this financial year’s targeted money has already been spent.

At a review meeting taken on Monday by Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia, it was disclosed that since the beginning of this financial year, April 2006, as against a targeted award of contracts for 1,273 km under NHDP II (the North South-East West corridor), contracts were out for just 450 km — barely 35 per cent.

For NHDP III (connecting important towns and cities beyond NHDP II), the news was worse: as against a September target of 626-km contracts, not a single contract has been awarded since April.

On NHDP I (the Golden Quadrilateral), the delay has hit tolling schedules. As against a target of tolling 406 km until September, just over half has been achieved.

Officials of the Ministry of Surface Transport — under which the National Highway Authority of India falls — say that the culprit is the newly set-up “public-private partnership appraisal committee” (PPPAC) which is delaying project approval and, therefore, contracts.

The Finance Ministry disagrees. It says that it received only 10 proposals until September 15 and claims these will be cleared in a month — yesterday, it approved the Delhi-Rohtak package.

Justifying the PPPAC, the Finance Ministry says that given that public-private partnership is a new concept, there is need for an inter-ministerial committee such as the PPPAC — it has representatives from the nodal ministry, Finance, Law and the Planning Commission — to scrutinize projects from “all aspects,” including financial and legal.

The Finance Ministry has also told NHAI to change its bidding format in favour of a two-stage process from January 2007 that ascertains both the technical and financial capability of developers. This, the Ministry claims, will help weed out “non-serious bidders who get the contract but do not have the calibre to deliver.

There are differences on the policy front as well. Case in point: “annuity projects,” where the developer is only responsible for construction and maintenance while NHAI pays an annual fee. These are projects that cannot be executed on build-own-transfer route either because of their location or traffic risk.

The Planning Commission argues that there is a need to have more “innovative models” that get NHAI more “value for money.” The lack of consensus on this — which should have been resolved by last May — is responsible for delays in projects, especially in the Northeast and Bihar.

Then there is the delay in Cabinet approval of the model concession agreement that defines the risks and rewards for construction and maintenance. It was cleared by the Committee on Infrastructure as long as a year ago. But differences on toll policy and land acquisition terms in the agreement have delayed its clearance.

^^ friggin morons.. :ohno:

i gotta say the previous govt did a lot more on the infra front than these jokers..

Well Kangress is doing what it does best, screw India!

more news on KMP expressway via HT Delhi Oct28th

http://img175.imageshack.us/img175/6274/1hw6.jpg
http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/7832/2wi0.jpg

PM lays Foundation Stone for 4 laning of NH7 from Bangalore to Nagpur


....
...
.
He was addressing a large public meeting after laying the foundation for the four-laning of the Nagpur-Hyderabad and Hyderabad-Bangalore sections of the National Highway 7 at Kothakota, about 30 km from here. This 263 km stretch in Andhra Pradesh, forming part of the North-South Corridor, is being built by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) at a cost of Rs. 1,738 crore on a public private partnership (PPP) basis.

Describing the National Highway 7 connecting Nagpur via Hyderabad to Bangalore as "an extremely important highway," Dr. Singh emphasised the need for the nation today to go in for "first-rate infrastructure."
....
..
.
http://www.hindu.com/2006/10/27/stories/2006102704981200.htm

4-laning of Amritsar to Wagah road okayed


New Delhi, October 27
With elections to the Punjab Assembly due early next year, the Union Cabinet today cleared the long-pending demand of four-laning of the Amritsar-Wagah section of National Highway 1 on built-operate-transfer (BOT) basis at an estimated cost of Rs 207 crore.

The government found BOT (toll) to be financially not viable as the cost incurred during construction and maintenance would be higher than the toll collected.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had promised the four-laning of this section of the highway during his visit to the state in March.

The cost would include Rs 195.48 crore for cost of work and cost towards land acquisition, rehabilitation and resettlement and utility shifting would cost Rs 11.52 crore.

The upgradation of the section would be under the National Highway Development Project on BOT basis. The upgradation of the existing road would improve traffic safety and provide faster movement of vehicles with improved riding quality and time.

This would provide linkage to other corridors of higher density, economic importance, tourism and pilgrimage.

Financial analysis of building the road on BOT (toll) basis by the government found that the project internal rate of return (pre-tax) was only 9.79 per cent and the expected return on equity was 5.94 per cent with a 40 per cent grant on this project from the government.

The Cabinet dropped the idea of BOT (toll) as even if a 40 per cent grant was provided for meeting the expenditure incurred during construction, the maintenance cost would be higher than toll collected in the section, as the traffic in this section was very low, tollable traffic in 2006 being 3,306 PCU per day.
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2006/20061028/main4.htm

NHDP-VI to be tabled before Cabinet by Nov-end (http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=145132)

Expressways may soon become a reality in the country, with the sixth phase of the National Highways Development Programme (NHDP) to be placed for Cabinet approval by November-end.

The ministry of road transport and highways is giving final touches to a note to be sent to the Cabinet for its approval.

Like NHDP-V, the sixth phase, too, will be taken up in entirety for Cabinet approval. The cost of the phase has been pegged at Rs 17,000 crore and will be constructed completely on build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis.

It was earlier estimated by the Planning Commission that the phase would require about Rs 5,400 crore from the Centre in the form of viability gap funding. However, with the recent decision to construct highways using private funds, most NHDP projects, wherever viable, are now being constructed on BOT basis.

NHDP-VI involves setting up of 1,000 km of access-controlled expressways of four to six-lanes in high-density parts of the country.

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has already begun the feasibility studies of the various stretches entailed in the phase, and will appoint consultants soon.

The six stretches that have been identified for pre-feasibility study include Delhi-Chandigarh, Delhi-Jaipur, Delhi-Meerut, Bangalore-Chennai, Delhi-Agra and Kolkata-Dhanbad expressways. The phase is likely to start with the 400-km Vadodara-Mumbai expressway.

An NHAI official said award of projects under NHDP-VI would begin in 2007 and is likely to continue till 2012. The deadline for completion of the phase as well as the entire NHDP is 2015.

NICE: SC rejects State plea

DH News Service New Delhi:


The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed the review petition filed by the Karnataka Government and others in the Bangalore-Mysore Infrastructure Corridor (BMIC) case paving the way for construction of the highway by the Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise (NICE).

The petition was dismissed by a three-member Bench of the apex court consisting of Justice S B Sinha, Justice Dalvir Bhandari and Justice K V Balakrishnan. Commenting on the dismissal of the review petitions, NICE said in a press release that the company will strive and do its best to expedite the project so that benefits of the project are brought to the people of Karnataka as soon as possible.

“The company requests all political parties to support the BMIC project irrespective of their political differences, since we have promised that our road /facilities will give the same quality of service to all Kannadigas without any discrimination,” it added.



Senior counsel Dushyant Dave, who appeared for NICE, said after the ruling that at least now, the State Government should allow execution of the project.

Cleared four times

“The project has now been cleared four times in public interest — twice by Karnataka High Court and twice by the Supreme Court,” he remarked.

The petitioners had moved the apex court against its judgement of April 20, 2006 wherein it had given the green signal to the controversy-ridden project. However, the State Government filed for review of the judgement alleging that NICE had secured 2,150 acres of land around Bangalore in excess of what was actually required for the project. This excess land at today’s prices was worth over Rs 30,000 crore, it claimed maintaining that the excess land NICE had acquired was outside the framework agreement of the project.

The petition enclosed a copy of the letter written by Governor T N Chaturvedi and stated that the Governor, a former Comptroller and Auditor General, too had opined after his own inquiry that the project has been given excess land.

It may be recalled that while clearing the project, a SC Bench comprising Justice Ruma Pal, Justice B N Srikrishna and Justice Dalveer Bhandari had slapped a fine of Rs 5 lakh on the Karnataka Government to be payable to NICE and a fine of Rs 50,000 on petitioners Janata Dal (United) MLA J C Madhuswami and Sriram Reddy of the CPI and others who had appealed against the High Court judgement of May 3, 2005. “There was no merit in the appeal filed by the Karnataka Government and others. They came out with frivolous arguments against the project,” Justice Srikrishna, pronouncing the judgement for the Bench, had said.

“We find that the High Court judgement is not liable to be interfered with,” he said.



NEXT LEGAL REMEDY

The Government can now file a “curative petition” before the Supreme Court. The provision for curative petition came into existence in 2002 when a Constitution Bench held that the Supreme Court may entertain a “curative petition” and reconsider its judgments to prevent abuse of its process, to cure gross miscarriage of justice, say legal experts. However, if the Court comes to the conclusion that curative petition was “without merit and vexatious” it can impose exemplary costs on petitioner.

Those filing curative petition must establish a violation of natural justice. Petitioner would be entitled to relief, if a member of the Bench that passed the judgment failed to disclose his connection with the subject matter; or, if the parties provide apprehension of bias.


ON THE BMIC TRACK

Date Event

20-02-95 MoU signed between govt and consortium.

21-04-95 Formation of high-level panel under chairmanship of PWD minister.

29-04-95 Meeting with then chief minister Deve Gowda on BMIC

20-11-95 GO issued on implementation of BMIC project on BOOT basis.

03-04-97 Framework agreement signed between govt and NICE

23-11-99 Agreement signed between NICE & KIADB for transfer of govt land to NICE

18-12-03 Single judge bench clears Expressway, but cancels land

acquisition for townships 20-01-04 Division bench stays single judge order.

04-11-04 Formation of KC Reddy panel for re-examining the project.

07-03-05 Interim order by the High Court

31-03-05 Chief Secretary K K Mishra files affidavit before HC

03-05-05 Final verdict by HC, orders prosecution of chief secretary and

expediting of project.

12-05-05 SC stays prosecution of chief secretary 18-07-05 SC allows work on project, but rules against alienation of land.

13-12-05 SC modifies order and allows NICE to alienate land

20-04-06 SC clears all the hurdles and gives green signal to the project.

02-11-06 SC dismisses the review petition filed by Karnataka Govt

The last ruling from SC clearing all hurdles on BMICP was in April 06. The state govt has not still handed over the required lands and is still bent on blocking this project. Can't understand why contempt of court action cannot be taken against them??

Quote from Deccan Herald -

There was still a possibility of the Govt getting a favourable verdict. Efforts to present the case effectively to get a favourable verdict would be made, in the interests of the people.
DEVE GOWDA

The next course of action will be decided after discussing with legal experts. The court had rejected only one point in the plea. The govt had moved the court to protect the people?s rights and efforts would continue in this direction.
KUMARASWAMY

DH News Service Bangalore:

The consortium of Soma Enterprise Ltd, with Nagarjuna Construction Company, and Maytas Infra Pvt Ltd, announced that financial closure on the Rs 765 crore Elevated Toll Expressway Project on Bangalore-Hosur Section of NH-7, was achieved, on Thursday.

Out of the Rs 765 crore, Rs 600 crore of debt has been raised from a consortium of banks, led by Canara Bank. The consortium will operate the expressway for 20 years.

In this regard, D V Raju, Vice President, Soma Enterprise Limited presented a cheque of Rs 16 crore towards negative grant to Vijay Singh, Secretary, Department of Road Transport and Highways and Pradeep Kumar, Chairman, National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), in New Delhi, on Thursday.

Speaking to Deccan Herald, Rajendra Prasad Maganti, CMD, Soma Enterprise Ltd, said that the companies had mobilised additional manpower, machinery and equipment to ensure that traffic was not affected during the work.

The stretch from Bangalore to the Electronic City, which is part of NH-7, is an important section of the National Highways network.

It is a part of the Golden Quadrilateral and the North-South corridor of NHAI.

The last ruling from SC clearing all hurdles on BMICP was in April 06. The state govt has not still handed over the required lands and is still bent on blocking this project. Can't understand why contempt of court action cannot be taken against them??

Quote from Deccan Herald -

There was still a possibility of the Govt getting a favourable verdict. Efforts to present the case effectively to get a favourable verdict would be made, in the interests of the people.
DEVE GOWDA

The next course of action will be decided after discussing with legal experts. The court had rejected only one point in the plea. The govt had moved the court to protect the people?s rights and efforts would continue in this direction.
KUMARASWAMY

This level of incompetence and selfishness amazes me. Here is a family who is ready to go against the verdict of the Supreme Court to protect their land from development.

I hope the Supreme Court is taking notice, and so are the people of Karnataka.

regarding people of KN, the project goes through 4 districts B'lore urban, B'lore rural, mandya and mysore.

Project is about 111 kms of expressway + 4 industrial townships + 1 ecotourism township.

b'lore(U+R):
gets all 4 industrial townships + 1/3 expressway.
1. Many NGO types are seriously against it. Reason: cutting through eco sensitive areas + poor compensation to land losers.
2. Some farmer types are against it. Reason: compensation.
3. Industry positive. But are only interested in the peripheral road component, which passes through urban B’lore and the townships and real estate in the district.
4. Politicians: Many politicians + babus in the country and their grandfathers have real estate in BMICAPA area. net +ve.
5. Another factor is the national mood which is overwhelmingly +ve. This influences courts, media et al., so almost zero opposition at higher levels.

So B’lore is net +ve about the project, in the hopes of growth and decongestion.

Mysore:
Gets 1/3 expressway.
Intellectual types, ngos(MGP, ACICM), industry, tourism, real estate and commons are all sanguine about it.
One or two disgruntled intellectual types are against it. Farmers/ land loosers are against it. But if properly compensated, they could be won over.
In general since Mysore directly stands to benefit from this, net +ve response from all concerned here. Mysore wants it all, expressway, improved state highway and double tracked rail. Will prolly be easier than B’lore if politicians yield. KIADB has acquired all sorts of acerages here. In the long run will grow.

Mandya:
gets 1/3 expressway + 1 ecotourism township at srirangapatna.
this is where real opposition will come when they get beyond ramanagara and chennapatna in b’lore. The district is all irrigated lands and is one of the most agriculturally productive lands in the state. This is vokkaliga heartland and is used to agitations to fight for their rights be it water or political share.
Agri is such a rewarding industry, nobody cares for other types of industry. For what it needs the SH and double tracked rail suffices.
The ecotourism center will be in Srirangapatna which is 15kms from Mysore and will benefit Mysore more than the district. in effect the district only is a conduit to all transaction between B'lore and M'sore.
They really gain nothing. The struggle here will be something to watch, given the paltry compensation that the state gives.

Not much publicly known about their opinion and they have been silent so far. From personal experience, best scenario net zero.

-------------------------------------------------------
In my estimate, the project will be a reality one day or the other. The b'lore component of this (road+4 TWPs) will be finished first. Mysore gets in only after Mandya is settled.

NEW DELHI: Talk about putting India on the fast track. With the Cabinet clearing construction of expressways covering a total of almost 1,000 km, journeys between major points are likely to take much less time. One example: it may soon be faster to travel between Delhi and Chandigarh by road than by Shatabdi.

The government is working on constructing a high-speed toll road — in addition to the existing national highway — to cut the time taken to cover the approximately 250-km distance between the two northern cities to two-and-half hours. Even at the outside limit, the journey should take less than three hours, compared with 185-200 minutes taken by Shatabdi.

But indulging the need for speed won’t be a cheap proposition. Back-of-the-envelope calculations indicate that you may have to shell out around Rs 300 as toll for using the proposed Delhi-Chandigarh expressway.

While Delhiites may also get expressways to Meerut and Jaipur, National Highway Authority of India will also undertake feasibility studies for Mumbai-Vadodara, Chennai-Bangalore and Kolkata-Dhanbad.

The Mumbai-Vadodra stretch, along with Delhi-Jaipur or Delhi-Chandigarh, may be among the first to be taken up for construction.

Using the Mumbai-Pune expressway model, the idea is to provide people in bigger cities with the option to cut down travelling time on busier sections.

"All the projects may not materialise. The final decision will be based on what results the feasibility studies throw up," a senior government official said.

Sources said the expressways, planned under the Rs 16,680-crore National Highway Development Programme’s sixth phase, would run parallel to existing highways (of course, the route will depend on land acquisition) and would have underpasses, flyovers and barriers to ensure that high-speed traffic flows without impediment.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/312477.cms

One thing I do not understand, if we have a NH from Delhi to Chandigarh, why are we not upgrading it to expressway by adding proper interchanges, shoulder, barriers instead of building a new one.

And, Rs. 300 for using a road of 250 km !!!!!!!! I hardly believe anybody will use it. Even if they use it they will find some way to bypass the toll booth.

BMIC: Gowdas to continue fight despite SC verdict (http://indianexpress.com/story/15976.html)

Despite the Supreme Court’s rejection of Karnataka’s review petition on the Rs 2,250-crore Bangalore Mysore Infrastructure Corridor (BMIC) project, Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy and his father former prime minister HD Devegowda today indicated that they will continue their fight against the project.

A three-member bench of the Supreme Court had on Thursday rejected the Karnataka government’s plea for a review of the court’s April 20, 2006 order giving a go-ahead for implementation of the country’s first private expressway project.

Following the verdict, Janata Dal Secular leader H D Devegowda, who sanctioned the project as CM in 1995, but ardently opposed the project since his party’s return to power in 2004, said “there is still a possibility of the government getting a favourable verdict”.

The JDS is considering a curative petition for the time being, but is even ready for a do-or-die effort to introduce a legislation to take over the project, even without the support of coalition partner BJP, party sources said.

The Karnataka government has since 2004 argued against the private infrastructure project on the grounds that the deal itself was signed fraudulently and that land in excess of requirement had been acquired for the project by the Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise (NICE). The 10-year-old BMIC project has however been cleared in four different legal forums—twice in the Karnataka High Court and twice in the Supreme Court.

In a statement NICE said: “The Supreme Court verdict is a gift to the people of Karnataka. The company requests all political parties to support the BMIC project irrespective of political differences, since we have promised that our road and facilities will give the same quality of service to all.”

Please provide words here because I am at a loss for them.

many possibilities when it comes to HDD:

1. lack of common sense
2. lack of good will for KA people
3. just politicising the situation

India puts China border roads on the fast track (http://indianexpress.com/sunday/story/16044.html)

As New Delhi pushes Beijing to show flexibility on the Arunachal border ahead of Chinese President Hu Jintao’s visit this month, the Government has pressed fast forward on its plan to build a network of roads in the state, including eight “strategically important” stretches that, for the first time, will connect points right on the India-China border.

The Prime Minister’s Office has instructed the Ministry of Roads, Transport and Highways to prepare a revised Cabinet note merging the first and second phases of the Special Accelerated Road Development Programme for the North East.

Result: the 2013 rollout for an estimated 3000 km of roads in Arunachal has been advanced by four years to 2009.

So about 3062 km of road network will be built in Arunachal Pradesh, which is nearly 50 per cent of the entire programme. Of this, almost 40% is marked “strategically important”.

This translates into eight strategic roads proposed by the Ministry of External Affairs (see map) plus two added following discussions with the state government.

The network includes two stretches that touch close to the India-Bhutan-China trijunction and the India-China-Myanmar trijunction. And the Indian portion of the historic Stillwell (India-Myanmar-China) road.

The aim is to link up border points with the (Assam-Arunachal Pradesh) National Highway 52, which is also being four-laned under the NHDP-3. The plan meshes with what Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has envisioned for the North-East: by the end of the Eleventh Five-year plan, connectivity for all 85 districts of the North-East by road and all state capitals by two modes of transport.

So, 11 more airports, including one in Itanagar, are being built taking the total up to 23 in this region. The Railways, too, has developed its own gauge conversion plan.



http://www.indianexpress.com/res/web/pIe/ieimages/Newpics/arunachal-b.jpg

Sorry if this was posted earlier.

NHAI signs agreements for three highway projects
Friday, October 20, 2006

National Highways Authority of India, on 19 October 2006, signed three concession agreements for four-laning a total of nearly 150 km of national highways on BOT (Build-Operate-Transfer)-Annuity basis in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. All the three stretches are part of NHDP-Phase II (North South Corridor) and will involve a total investment of Rs.900 crore.

As per the agreement, the concessionaires will be responsible for the design, construction, finance, operation and maintenance of the highway stretches.

Jhansi-Lalitpur Section (km 0.0 to km 49.70) [NH-25/26]
Uttar Pradesh

Jhansi-Lalitpur Section (km 49.700 to km 99.005) [NH-26]
Uttar Pradesh

Lakhnadon (Km 547.400) to start of Seoni Bypass (Km 596.750) [NH-7]
Madhya Pradesh

The state of some stretch on the Bangalore - Mangalore highway.. Does anyone know what exactly is happening?

photos copyright tiegerblume

http://img165.imageshack.us/img165/3974/bangaloremangalorehighwrs1.jpg

http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/2513/bangaloremanagloreyiegeue8.jpg

Shocking !!! ... !!! You just need one of those fuel tankers to go off balance in the pot-holes and you have a tragedy in the making.

Anyone seen the steep angle the bus is on its way out of one pot-hole? God bless the passengers on that stretch !

p2p4


The state of some stretch on the Bangalore - Mangalore highway.. Does anyone know what exactly is happening?

photos copyright tiegerblume

http://img165.imageshack.us/img165/3974/bangaloremangalorehighwrs1.jpg

http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/2513/bangaloremanagloreyiegeue8.jpg

maybe thats the blr-mys national highway via kollegal

:omg:

Thanks sun for the pics.
95% sure that's the Shiraadi ghat section on B'lore-Mangalore NH. Descending down to the coast from the western ghats when travelling east to west. Which means real heavy monsoons.

a lot in news recently.

A lot of people in KN are pissed about this. The state has said if the NHAI does not do it they will. Carries a lot of commercial traffic to the port.

4 laning the highway upto hassan is on anvil.
some noise about 4/6 laning down to mangalore.

did'nt know it was this bad. *shudder*

kollegal section is all still on the deccan..

some background references from the hindu


Convert Mangalore-Hassan highway into 4-lane: Govt

Mangalore , Oct. 11

The Karnataka Government has requested the Union Government to convert Mangalore-Hassan stretch of National Highway No. 48 into four-lane. This will help provide good port connectivity between New Mangalore Port and the hinterland, according to Mr H.D. Revanna, Karnataka Minister for Public Works and Power.

Addressing presspersons here on Wednesday, Mr Revanna said that he and the Chief Minister, Mr H.D. Kumaraswamy, had met the Union Minister for Shipping and Surface Transport, Mr T.R. Baalu, in this regard.

During their meeting with Mr Baalu, they had also submitted a Rs 100-crore proposal to the Union Minister to concrete a 40-km-stretch of road at Shirady Ghat on NH 48. The proposal was based on a report submitted by the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore.

Concreting work

Stating that the Union Government had agreed to sanction Rs 7 crore for concreting work, he said that amount would not help in concreting the 40-km-stretch of highway. The Minister said that he would again meet Mr Baalu and request for Rs 100 crore for the work.

"The Karnataka Government is ready to concrete 40-km-stretch at Shirady Ghat, if the Union Government agrees to hand over the road to the State Government," he said. On widening of the road between Mysore and B.C. Road Town, he said nearly 40 per cent of the work had been completed up to Kushalnagar from Mysore.

Tenders will be called for work between Sampaje and B.C. Road soon on that project. The total project cost is estimated at Rs 300 crore.

Asked about the pending dues of various urban and rural local bodies to the electricity supply companies, he said efforts were on to collect the dues.

Of the Rs 750-crore dues, nearly Rs 200 crore has been collected so far.

He will write to the Minister concerned on the pending dues, Mr Revanna added.

The road carries heavy tankers up into the rest of the state.
Deccan Herald...


‘Repair highway’
Bangalore,dhns:
Lorry owners and agents in Karnataka on Friday urged the Union government to repair the Sakaleshpur-Mangalore Highway and facilitate easier supply of domestic LPG in Karnataka and especially, Bangalore.

Mr G R Shanmugappa, President - Federation of Karnataka State Lorry Owners and Agents Association said on Friday that the dismal shape of the highway had resulted in the stoppage of gas tanker traffic on the highway, leading to an artificial scarcity of domestic LPG. The alternative route (via Hubli-Dharwad) involved travel of an extra 800 km, he said. The Federation officials said, the assurances by Union Minister for Surface Transport T R Baalu - regarding repair of the highway - were yet to be delivered.


Bloody morons these KN officials. Kerala also faces similar rains. Yet they have good roads.

The ports connectivity project requires the Mangalore port to be connected to the GQ network. The BLR-MGLR highway should be made a part of this project, so that it is four-laned to GQ standards. This is a shocking state of affairs for an important road.

Sridhar,

i believe it is a stretch of 40 kms on Shiraadi ghat that is the bottleneck.
apparently the state has been on this case since 2005.
here is some background on the mudlinging that is going on this.


State seeks funds for concreting Shiradi Ghat
MANGALORE Oct 12: The State Government would take up work on concreting the Shiradi Ghat stretch on national highway 48 (Mangalore-Bangalore) if the Union Government transferred the stretch to the State, H.D. Revanna, Minister for Public Works, said here on Wednesday.

Addressing presspersons, he said the ghat section had been damaged to a great extent.

The State had submitted a proposal to the Centre to convert the 40-km stretch on the section as a concrete highway at an estimated cost of Rs. 100 crore. But the Centre had conveyed that it could sanction Rs. 7 crore for it.

As the ghat section had been severely damaged, developing it as a concrete highway was the only way to prevent it from getting worse during rainy season every year.

A scientist at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, who inspected the stretch in his report had also recommended converting the ghat section as a concrete highway. The Rs. 7 crore promised by the Centre was not enough for the purpose.

The State would again ask the Centre to sanction the required funds (Rs. 100 crore). The Centre should either improve the ghat section or it should hand it over to the State to take up works, he said.

The Minister said that in 2005 the State had submitted a proposal to the Centre to concrete only the curves in the ghat section at an estimated cost of Rs. 9 crore. But the Centre did not approve the proposal.

Hindu

An older Jan 2005 article.
Bangalore-Mangalore highway to be made four-lane soon

By Our Staff Correspondent

MANGALORE, JAN. 26. The Dakshina Kannada district in-charge Minister, Jabbar Khan Honnali, on Wednesday said priority would be given to converting the Bangalore-Mangalore into a four-lane highway along with the completion of the work on the Hassan-Mangalore rail line.

Addressing a press conference here, Mr. Khan said most part of the National Highway between Bangalore and Mangalore was in good condition, but it needed widening as the two cities had immense potential for heavy traffic movement between them.

Referring to the overall civic and urban development of Mangalore, Mr. Khan said he wanted to see Mangalore develop on the lines of Bangalore. Every road in the city should be paver finished and complete with ducting and conduit system, underground storm water carriages and paved footpaths for pedestrian movement. Every aspect of development would be modelled on that of Bangalore as that city was one of the best-developed cities in the country.

Mr. Khan, however, observed that the roads of Mangalore needed to be widened as the traffic had grown in the last few years.

Stating that information technology should be popularised here, Mr. Khan said Mangalore had potential to become a sought-after destination in this field in the next few years. In fact it had infrastructure needed for the growth of information technology industries. However, better air connectivity appeared to be one of the desirable things for Mangalore and he hoped once the airport expansion here was completed, things would improve.

Urban infrastructure

At a meeting with the Mayor, Purandaradasa Kulur, and officials and elected leaders of the Mangalore City Corporation, Mr. Khan observed that the work on urban infrastructure development that had been taken up with funding from the Asian Development Bank under the Karnataka Urban Infrastructure Development Corporation (KUIDFC) should be monitored for quality and speedy completion without giving scope for cost escalation.Briefing the corporation officials, Mr. Khan said priority should be given to proper distribution of drinking water and sewerage treatment. He cautioned that no sewerage should be allowed to flow free into the sea or the rivers without being treated.

that road is nothing. you guys should see the road leading up to JNPT. when i went there in 2004 the potholes were 20 feet across and 2 feet deep. most vehicles were going off-'road'. i had a broken bumper at the end of the day, but was lucky to survive. and this road handles most of india's container traffic

thankfully the nhai website says JNPT connectivity is now complete.
any first hand updates on that?

Thanks for the updates, Vadi.

The state of some stretch on the Bangalore - Mangalore highway.. Does anyone know what exactly is happening?

photos copyright tiegerblume

http://img165.imageshack.us/img165/3974/bangaloremangalorehighwrs1.jpg

http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/2513/bangaloremanagloreyiegeue8.jpg

And it is called a highway!!!
:lol:

And those rhyming sounds..Bangalore and Mangalore. :)

thankfully the nhai website says JNPT connectivity is now complete.
any first hand updates on that?

sorry no idea. dont have to go there anymore, so havent seen it in a while

even the bombay port road is in extremely poor condition, esp near the depots at sewree

whoever took the pics... the pics are indicative of the importance of the road.
climbing the gradients are tanker trucks. descending the gradient are passenger vehicles.

deeply disturbed by these pics.
had only read reports.


have traveled n number of times on this road. never been so bad.

are people still using the 4-lane state highway to go between those two cities? If this is the current state of the NH, then why do people still use it?

whoever took the pics... the pics are indicative of the importance of the road.
climbing the gradients are tanker trucks. descending the gradient are passenger vehicles.

deeply disturbed by these pics.
had only read reports.


have traveled n number of times on this road. never been so bad.

Maybe it is just a small Ghat stretch and the effects of heavy monsoons...But given the importance of this highway, obviously the NHAI isn't doing its job right. Hopefully NHAI doesn't turn out to be the another AAI.

Other snaps of NH48 (pre monsoon)

http://img72.imageshack.us/img72/5650/nh48bangaloremangalorerx6.jpg


http://img123.imageshack.us/img123/470/nh48mangaloreramasamptahz0.jpg


http://img72.imageshack.us/img72/6266/mangalorehighwaysajithvmi4.jpg


NH17 - Mangalore - now this is not common all across India - a glowing testament to the corruption of our contractors, babus and netas. However it is true heavy rains, overloaded trucks bribing cops also cause a lot of damage.

http://img123.imageshack.us/img123/8207/nh17mangaloresuratkalprfw3.jpg

And here it seems is a stretch of NH6 in Maharashtra. While obviously these maybe small stretches, there is absolutely no excuse that a major highway should be in this state.

cc rights Harshad Sharma

http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/3150/nh6nearnagpurharshadshatz5.jpg

Same NH6 - another stretch - note the difference

http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/1977/nh6nagpurharshad1jm2.jpg

In Uttar Pradesh
photo cc rights nagayamax

BTW did someone steal the lights (like they did in Lucknow airport?) or they were never there and the contractor took all the money?

http://img119.imageshack.us/img119/9497/mgsetunagoyamaxew6.jpg

http://img119.imageshack.us/img119/2362/highwayqualitynagaymaxjq7.jpg

are people still using the 4-lane state highway to go between those two cities? If this is the current state of the NH, then why do people still use it?

Hi Naga_solidus.. I think you are confused.. this is the Bangalore-MANGALORE highway. .I think you are referring to Bangalore-MYSORE highway.

Mysore is a sizable city 125 kms from Bangalore. Mangalore is also among the bigger cities of Karnataka; its on the coast; and is about 350 kms from Bangalore. The snaps that you see are of the Bangalore-Mangalore NH48

heres a section of the map (http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:India_roadway_map.svg)
http://img149.imageshack.us/img149/9311/nhvt4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Hi Naga_solidus.. I think you are confused.. this is the Bangalore-MANGALORE highway. .I think you are referring to Bangalore-MYSORE highway.

Mysore is a sizable city 125 kms from Bangalore. Mangalore is also among the bigger cities of Karnataka; its on the coast; and is about 350 kms from Bangalore. The snaps that you see are of the Bangalore-Mangalore NH48

Yes, and these ghat roads are those in the western ghats when you cross over from coastal Mangalore to the Deccan plateau.

BTW Raokiranj, is Dharmastala in this route?

from sakleshpura past golitattu in the map is the descent down the shirady ghat section. Thi spart of the highway is what is seen in the above pics.

http://map.web.mapquest.com/?e=9&GetMapDataDirect=Gme5diw%2cb%3a9u12%3b%40%24n1%2d15hf72%26z8%26lrbxuu%24w%21wb2d48%3a0%2d2wqwr5%26z7n1r1%3a9uy2%3bu%24nu67%7c%26a7aq%40%24%3a%26%402l%21frwh67%3a04%40x5ab29%40%24%3a9yz2%3be4h2gmi%26%402squ%2a2%260i02%402squ%2anq%40yguu2a0a%24lhaba14y%3ahztwurz%3al4a2qz2%3a9475qz8%3a062l5f%24x1wt00%402sqf82%26zrwhf%24xg672%26uy2u6%24wu67%3aqz72%26082u%4025u6%40l%3b%40zauu%24%3a&rnd=7514

sudheesh, so why are you interested in dharmasthala, may i ask? :)

[QUOTE=vadisudheesh, so why are you interested in dharmasthala, may i ask? :)[/QUOTE]

Yaar Vadi, thanks for the map, I now know the exact location of Dharmastala.:) So the route would be through the Bangalore highway before deviating to the north to Dharmastala, isn't it?

I had once travelled to dharmasthala, the big pilgrim centre years back. The route was through slightly ghat section and there were only state transport buses in that route. I remember the route through slightly hilly terrain.

depends on your departure point. never took NH. always the interiors.
when it was on, the rail to subramanya was the best way.
entirely through the hills. you get many buses from subramanya to dharmasthala.

subramanya might remind you of home. :)

can someone post a pic of the nh symbol. wanted it for the map.

Found it on the net. This is what the map looks like now, a part of the north region.
http://img329.imageshack.us/img329/2940/arbb1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Maybe its time NHAI diferentiated NHDP highways from the others with new designations and symbols. What about "golden highway", sounds cheesy but cant think of anything else at the moment.

Centre to develop 7,603 km of road links in North East (http://www.business-standard.com/economy/storypage.php?tab=r&autono=265449&subLeft=1&leftnm=3)

India today unveiled plans to develop 7,603 km of road links to reach every nook and corner of the North East with the government saying it was not to rival, but to strengthen links with country’s giant neighbour China.

“We are planning to reach every place in this strategic region,” Minister of State for Defence M Pallam Raju told reporters after a full board meeting of the Border Roads Organisation (BRO).

“The road development programme would involve laying of 7,603 km roads. It would be completed in the next six years at an estimated cost of Rs 12,123 crores,” he said.

The new plan envisages networking road connectivity to the country’s other neighbours, Bhutan and Myanmar, as well within seven naxal-affected states in the heartland and in Jammu and Kashmir.

To take up this major task, Raju said the Cabinet had given its nod to bolstering the rolls of the Border Roads personnel from the present 32,000 to 42,646 within the next three years.

On the BRO’s major highway project in Afghanistan to link the Delaram town on the Iran-Afghan border with Zarranj by a 218 km highway, the minister said despite the growing Taliban activities in southern Afghanistan, the project would be completed by 2008.

The highway would link the Iranian port of Bandaar- Abbas with Afghanistan’s main garland highway to provide India access to the landlocked country bypassing Pakistan.

some strategic thinking involved behind this major road building program in the North East. i didn't expect it. only high level intelligence and defence ppl would know about the details.

http://www.nhai.org/images/june06/a8_m.jpg

http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/4379/a8mgi5.jpg

most of it has either been completed or is under construction, so can we expect it to be done by 2009 atleast???

most of it has either been completed or is under construction, so can we expect it to be done by 2009 atleast???

That is actually the target. But just like GQ there will be portions here and there which won't complete due to various issues. But majority of the work should be complete by 2009.

Going by the road sector construction in US, I can say as much that the speed with which NHAI has been building the highways in India is staggering. We may think it is slow but for Government projects, it is fast. The main reason why it is progressing at a rapid pace is because of the BOT policy.

Crucial stretches like the "Chicken neck" and the Jammu-Srinagar have not been awarded yet.

Thats a big stretch of 134 km near Armur(between Nagpur and Hyderabad) that has to be awarded. It passes mostly through jungle and naxalite areas in telengana, AP.

Where as near anantpur (between Hyderabad and Bangalore) only 14 kms is left to be awarded.

Hindustan Times - December 9, 2006

http://img294.imageshack.us/img294/2306/untitledgt2.jpg

This is news sent by indiansuinte. Slightly dated. Does anyone know anything about this project?

DS Constructions completes Raipur - Durg expressway
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2006/06/19/stories/2006061903030300.htm

DS Constructions Ltd (DSC) has said that it has completed the 27 km long Raipur-Durg expressway project, which is part of NH-6 in Chattisgarh at a cost of Rs 95 crore. The project was awarded by the National Highways Authority of India on a Build-Operate-Transfer basis.

The project involved extending the existing 2-lane carriageway to include 4 lanes. "The Raipur-Durg expressway is an important link to Chhattisgarh as all major industrial and commercial establishments are situated along this section," said Mr Anhad Narula, Director of DSC. It is estimated that the expressway would reduce the travel time between Raipur and Durg by 30 minutes.The company has also been awarded the Raipur-Aurang road project worth Rs 190 crore, he added.

The website is u/c. But the company seems to be building another expressway project too

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2006/02/16/stories/2006021600691100.htm

And another related news

http://www.zeenews.com/znnew/articles.asp?aid=340895&ssid=52&sid=BUS

Hindustan Times - December 9, 2006

http://img294.imageshack.us/img294/2306/untitledgt2.jpg
80% of Golden Quadrilateral are upto world standards? That's a disgrace. This is a brand new project aimed at improving the infrastructure, and this road is only a minor part of the total length of national highways.

I expected at least 95% of it to world standards - multiple lanes, extra lanes near cities and in busy sections, wide lanes, no steep curves, paved hard shoulders, wide enough median, preferably no gap in median, preferably fencing along the roadside, etc.

That was back in 2003 dont forget!

Its been three years since and perhaps if another survery was done may be the percentage would have further increased?

I think 80% is a good achievement in its own sense as one time the was no imvestment in roads at all!

That was back in 2003 dont forget!

Its been three years since and perhaps if another survery was done may be the percentage would have further increased?

I think 80% is a good achievement in its own sense as one time the was no imvestment in roads at all!
Duly noted. I hope they have improved a lot more of the GQ, as well as the NSEW corridors.

D S Constructions raises Rs 4,140 million for construction projects (http://www.myiris.com/newsCentre/newsPopup.php?fileR=20061211083452130&dir=2006/12/11&secID=livenews)

D S Constructions raised Rs 4,140 million of debt from a consortium of banks, led by the State Bank of Tranvancore, for its Rs 7,360 million worth road projects, reports Business Standard.

D S Constructions, a PPP infrastructure development and engineering construction company is seeking to achieve financial closures for its Rs 4,500 million Lucknow-Sitapur and the Rs 2,860 million Raipur-Aurang road projects.

The work on Lucknow-Sitapur project involves strengthening and widening the existing two-lane road to four-lane (from 413.200 km to 489.13 km). D S Constructions would also build 92 structures, including a major bridge, four minor bridges along with five vehicular underpasses.

the money makes it look like a huge project but the length of the road aptly shows the expensive nature of infrastructure and the need to spend more.

Govt clears 1,000 kms of expressways

In the first stage, 400 Kms Expressway between Vadodara and Mumbai has been taken up for feasibility study. The remaining will be selected out of other high density corridors

The Government has approved construction of 1,000 Kms of Expressways at a cost of Rs166.8bn under the National Highways Development Project (NHDP) Phase-VI, K.H. Muniyappa, the Minister of State for Shipping, Road Transport and Highways told the Rajya Sabha on Thursday. Finance Minister P. Chidambaram in his Budget speech in February 2006 had announced that the Government planned to develop 1000 Kms of access controlled Expressways.

In the first stage, 400 Kms Expressway between Vadodara and Mumbai has been taken up for feasibility study. The remaining 600 Kms will be selected out of other high density corridors i.e. Delhi-Chandigarh (249 Kms) on NH-1 and NH-22; Bangalore-Chennai (334 Kms) on NH-4; Delhi-Jaipur (261 Kms) on NH-8; Delhi-Meerut (66 Kms) on NH-58; Kolkata-Dhanbad (277 Kms) on NH-2 and Delhi-Agra (200 Kms) on NH-2.
http://www.indiainfoline.com/news/innernews.asp?storyId=22249&lmn=1

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aq8.z60APVro&refer=home


Blackstone, Citigroup Plan $5 Billion India Infrastructure Fund


Blackstone Group LP, manager of the world's biggest buyout fund, and Citigroup Inc. are in talks with the Indian government to start a $5 billion fund that will invest in the nation's infrastructure projects.

The debt and equity fund will finance ports, airports, roads, power and similar facilities in the next five years, said Arvind Mayaram, joint secretary at the finance ministry in New Delhi. The size and structure of the fund are being worked out, as separate discussions with Blackstone and the private equity unit of Citigroup are at initial stages, he said.

``There is appetite for $5 billion to be absorbed very quickly in the kind of projects that are emerging, with a fairly good rate of return,'' Mayaram said in a telephone interview. ``That will be a good size to look at.''

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in October doubled his budget for infrastructure spending to $320 billion by 2010 to spur annual economic growth to 10 percent and eradicate poverty in the world's second-most populous nation. About 20 percent of that amount is set to come from the private sector, Mayaram said.

``The opportunities are tremendous,'' he said. ``There is space for several such funds to come in.''

The fund should have a life of at least 10 years, he said. Long-term debt would be one of the requirements because infrastructure projects typically have a long gestation, he said.

The government has yet to decide if it will contribute to the fund, he said.

``We would prefer it should be purely held by the private sector, but there's no decision as yet on it,'' Mayaram said.

The government will need overseas and non-state funding as India is bound by law to cut its budget deficit by 0.3 percent of gross domestic product each year until 2009, constraining its ability to spend on infrastructure after providing almost half the federal budget on defense, subsidies and interest payments.

_____________________________________________________________________________________



this is good news. there should be more like these. also, instead of whining let's start thinking about some innovative solutions to increase infra investment. my first question? currently, how much profits are private companies allowed in road projects? also, how does roads building work in the basic level? i mean does the gov't give the money to private companies to build the roads and say you have to return this in this time period and can have this much profit????

currently, how much profits are private companies allowed in road projects? also, how does roads building work in the basic level? i mean does the gov't give the money to private companies to build the roads and say you have to return this in this time period and can have this much profit????

A classic example of a Private and govt partnership is of MH and MSRDC(Govt owned,publicly traded company) to build the MPE on a BOT basis. Through this the company MSRDC will collect the toll for a period of 30 years and then hand it over to the government. Since it is under a private company right now thats why I guess they havent assigned it an expressway number-i may be wrong though.
MSRDC is currently running into losses as the toll recovery was less than expected. So profits will come later. The money was taken from funds to build the MPE taken from many sources like Public Works ministry.

Have a look at this -->http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=213158

BTW,I had read earlier somewhere that the Ring Expressway around Delhi would be designated as NE-2

What is going on with the amnebad-rajkot expressway?

Also is this Expressway still gonna be built..and what about the expressway on the other side of delhi that would help make this a full ring???
http://img175.imageshack.us/img175/6274/1hw6.jpg

AMD-Rajkot expressway is still in the pipeline. they had tried to hire a consultant back in October to see the feasibililty in converting the NH into an Expressway . So no new news on that.

Editted: Work on KMP expressway started back in July 2006.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aq8.z60APVro&refer=home


Blackstone, Citigroup Plan $5 Billion India Infrastructure Fund

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in October doubled his budget for infrastructure spending to $320 billion by 2010 to spur annual economic growth to 10 percent and eradicate poverty in the world's second-most populous nation. About 20 percent of that amount is set to come from the private sector, Mayaram said.

____________________



That mounts to ~25 % of gdp . Is GOI gonna spend that much?

well the promise they will. the GoI always promises

ah, i guess this is what that article meant....

India need 320 billion dollar for infrastructure over five years, says Chidambaram
http://www.dailyindia.com/show/95150.php/India-need-320-billion-dollar-for-infrastructure-over-five-years-says-Chidambaram

That mounts to ~25 % of gdp . Is GOI gonna spend that much?

Might as well blow the foreign currency reserves on it seeing as they arnt ever gonna decide to liberalise the rupee :)

---

Looking at all these updated maps, I wonder how other countries go about planning their road networks - are the most efficient routes worked out, or just new sections added at random when needed?

The fastest, most efficient, and of course cheapest route is likely what is planned but not always possible with right of way issues, natural obstructions, etc.

Bihar, N-E, TN to be thrust areas in highway Phase III, Govt OK on way (http://www.indianexpress.com/story/19060.html)

The Government is set to clear the entire Phase Three of the National Highway Development Programme (NHDP III) where seven new road projects are to be included for Bihar, taking the length of roads in the state under NHDP III from 113 km to 890 km.

A sizeable portion or around 10 per cent of the total length under NHDP III would be for the North-East states, covering Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura. This fits into UPA plans to improve connectivity in states along the China border.

In all, the Government is going to increase the length of roads under NHDP III to 11,530 km — the Cabinet has already given its nod for 6,139 km. In fact, Bihar will have the largest increase in the total length under this programme — up by 777 km.

Under the approval sought for NHDP III, seven projects would be added for Bihar and five new projects, totalling a length of 613 km, for Assam.

J&K will have one new 101 km project connecting Srinagar-Baramula-Uri.

Tamil Nadu, which already has approval for ten projects totalling 1,146 km under NHDP III, will now have a total of 13 projects, totalling 1,455 km under this programme — the largest for any state.

check out http://www.nhai-ris.org/ awesome stuff.
you need to download the map viewer first

NHAI revamp to put it on fast track (http://business-standard.com/common/storypage.php?autono=269045&leftnm=3&subLeft=0&chkFlg=)

The prime minister’s committee on infrastructure has finalised a proposal for restructuring the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI).

Sources in the ministry of road and highways say the changes in the NHAI board are aimed at laying more stress on public-private partnership (PPP) projects.

The NHAI may also be empowered to take its own decisions, without forwarding them to the Public Investment Board (PIB).

The proposal has been sent for the Cabinet’s approval, which is expected in the coming days.

The sources said one more member to deal with PPP projects will be added to the five permanent members on the NHAI board.

Apart from this, two temporary members will be added to the present tally of four. Sources said these two could be from financial institutions or IIMs.

Currently, apart from the chairman, there are five permanent members, including member (administration), member (finance), and three technical members.

The four temporary members are member (expenditure), member (road transport), member (transport development) and one member from the Planning Commission.

The Cabinet nod would bring to an end around two years of the long-winding process.

The idea was mooted by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in January 2005.

The delay was due to the fact that the road transport ministry and the Planning Commission kept passing the responsibility of finalising the proposal to each other.

After the Cabinet clearance, the NHAI Act would be amended to include the proposals. This could take a few months.

Once the restructuring is done, the projects under the national highway development programme (NHDP) will be expedited, sources say.

Sources said the NHAI needed restructuring badly because projects as big as the NHDP need a high level of expertise and knowhow. The move will allow outsourcing of expertise.

Sources said after the restructuring, all NHAI offices could be connected by a WAN network. All toll booths and contractors would also be a part of the network.

Work on Taj Expressway set to begin

TNN

Construction work on the Taj Expressway project may begin within a month, after getting clearance from the Justice S Narain inquiry committee. The Expressway, meant to connect Greater Noida with Agra, will take about 36 months to complete after this.

A source from the construction company executing the project said: ‘‘The 165 kilometre expressway will initially be a 6 lane stretch, with service lines on both sides. It will reduce the driving time from Greater Noida to Agra to a mere two hours. The project was originally expected to cost about Rs 2,400 crore, but the delay caused by two inquiries will obviously hike the current costs.’’

A senior Uttar Pradesh government official said that the project may take some more time as the government order allowing resumption of work was only last month handed over to the construction company and land acquisition, detailed project report and environmental clearance still needs to be completed.

He added that the expressway will connect the main townships along the way to Agra. ‘‘It may include ribbon development on 2,500 acres at 5 places along the way, providing a fast moving corridor and direct access to the Taj Economic Zone. This will also ease out congestion on NH-2 and will develop adjoining areas.’’

I am hoping this expressway doesnt just run through the towns in the middle but away from them and has exits leading to those towns. It is all too common in north India to have villages spill onto the highways. I had a close shave once when a little kid dashed on the highway running after a kite. The skid marks from my Zen were at least 5 meters long. our highways need to run as far away from population as possible, with exits leading to them. Not a new concept, but never implemented in India.

DS constructions awarded contract for Gwalior-Jhansi Expressway (http://www.myiris.com/newsCentre/newsPopup.php?fileR=20061227085903043&dir=2006/12/27&secID=livenews)

DS Constructions (DSCL) has inked the concession agreement with National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) for four-laning of the Gwalior-Jhansi Expressway section on NH-75 on build - operate- transfer (annuity) basis, reports Business Line.

The 80.127-km long expressway will be constructed at a cost of over Rs 6,500 million within 30 months. The concession period for the project is 20 years.

The work on the project entails design, construction, development, finance, operation and maintenance of the project, including rehabilitation and upgradation from the existing two lanes to four lanes.

N.D. Mehra, director, DSCL, said `Recently, we were successful in raising the entire debt amount for two significant projects worth Rs 7,360 million, one of which is in Uttar Pradesh. This is our second significant project in Uttar Pradesh after the Lucknow- Sitapur expressway project. With this project our order book stands in excess of Rs 40 billion in the roads, highways and expressway sector with over 525 km in length under construction.`

It won't. It will be an extension of the Noida-Greater Noida Expressway which is completely access controlled and the expressways in on a mound so it is at a higher level than surrounding land...No way to build around it...And the current expressway has ramps and all...Check out the pics of the current Noida Greater Noida Expressway.....

Also, aren't they gonna make the stretch from the Delhi-Noida Expressway to the Noida-Greater Noida Expressway access controlled?

http://img54.imageshack.us/img54/4872/dsc03412ix0.jpg
http://img54.imageshack.us/img54/386/dsc03411rq8.jpg

I am hoping this expressway doesnt just run through the towns in the middle but away from them and has exits leading to those towns. It is all too common in north India to have villages spill onto the highways. I had a close shave once when a little kid dashed on the highway running after a kite. The skid marks from my Zen were at least 5 meters long. our highways need to run as far away from population as possible, with exits leading to them. Not a new concept, but never implemented in India.

Also, aren't they gonna make the stretch from the Delhi-Noida Expressway to the Noida-Greater Noida Expressway access controlled?

According to this (http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=198395) article,Noida will have flyovers on all the intersections between both the expressways. Dont think so it will be access controlled though.

Here'a a snippet

Once these roads become signal-free, commuters will be able to reach Greater Noida from Delhi (through the DND flyover) without having to wait at traffic lights for there would be no signal for almost 30 km at a stretch.

According to this (http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=198395) article,Noida will have flyovers on all the intersections between both the expressways. Dont think so it will be access controlled though.


Isn't that what access controlled means if they are to have flyovers/overpasses at each intersection?

Isn't that what access controlled means if they are to have flyovers/overpasses at each intersection?

The term 'Access controlled' is ambiguous. But here is my take on it. Flyovers at each intersection doesnt really mean the road is access controlled. Take the Ring Road in Delhi-nearly each intersection has a flyover but it doesnt warrant it to be an access controlled road.

To be access controlled,there should be proper ramps/roads/ways to get onto the road and exit. On the ring road there are tons of roads which jut onto it spilling cars on the left most lane.

what happen to delhi-amritsar expressway they were planning to build, any idea??

what happen to delhi-amritsar expressway they were planning to build, any idea??

Delhi-Amritsar was never on the cards. Delhi-Chandigarh expressway is on the list of cleared expressways to be built. The govt plans to build 1000kms of expressways. (http://www.indiainfoline.com/news/innernews.asp?storyId=22249&lmn=1) And of those the 400km Vadodara(Gj)-Mumbai Expressway is definitely going to be the first to be built. The other 600kms that would be selected out of the following roads-

Delhi-Chandigarh (249 Kms) on NH-1 and NH-22
Bangalore-Chennai (334 Kms) on NH-4
Delhi-Jaipur (261 Kms) on NH-8
Delhi-Meerut (66 Kms) on NH-58
Kolkata-Dhanbad (277 Kms) on NH-2
Delhi-Agra (200 Kms) on NH-2.

HCC bags Rs 275cr BOT (Annuity) project of NHAI

Souce: Moneycontrol.com (http://news.moneycontrol.com/india/news/pressmarket/hindustanconstructioncompanyconstruction/hccbagsrs275crbotannuityprojectnhai/market/stocks/article/258851)
Hindustan Construction Company Ltd (HCC), India’s leading construction and infrastructure development Company has bagged the prestigious 30 Km highway development contract of National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) on NH-7 in Andhra Pradesh under North-South Corridor (NHDP Phase II) on BOT (Annuity) basis.

The contract envisages design, construction, development, finance, operation and maintenance of 30 kms of four lane highway between Kadtal and Armur on NH-7. The value of the EPC contract is estimated at Rs 275 crores. The company has received the letter of acceptance from NHAI for this project with semi-annuity amount of Rs.23.80 crores which will be paid over next 18 years (36 instalments) excluding the construction period of 2 years. This is the first BOT (Annuity) project being implemented by HCC for NHAI.

In the transportation segment HCC has a strong track record in the construction of Bridges, Roads, Highways, Railways and MRTS (Mass Rapid Transport System). In the MRTS space, the company has executed the Kolkata and Delhi Metro Rail project. HCC has also executed the Mumbai-Pune expressway, the first ever 6 lane concrete pavement express way in India. It has built nearly 173 road bridges; the combined length of which would approximately be 46,458 meters. HCC's overseas performance in the construction of bridges has also been impressive with over 34 bridges built in Iraq alone. It is the first Indian contracting company to venture in a big way into Jammu & Kashmir for redevelopment works. It is building 84km of the historical Mughal Road along with 4 major hydel power projects in the state of Jammu & Kashmir. The company is also constructing the 8 lane, 4.6 km long Bandra-Worli sea-link project in Mumbai which will be an engineering masterpiece.

HCC’s order book has more than doubled over last one year. Project assignments have been secured across diverse sectors like transportation, nuclear and hydro power generation, water supply and irrigation. The current order book position involves 45% of the Power projects, 40% of the Transportation projects, 12% Water & Environment project and 3% other projects. The company’s varied expertise and presence in diverse sectors reduces dependence of growth from any one segment of business, thereby minimizing risks and ensuring stronger returns.

Some highlights of NHDP III


Seven new road projects in Bihar will be included under NHDP Phase-III. About 10 per cent of the total length under phase-III would be for the north-east states covering Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura.
The Centre is going to increase the length of roads under phase-III to 11,530 km - the Cabinet has already given the green signal for 6,139 km. Work has started on some of the projects under NHDP III A.
Additional five new projects, totalling 613 km, for Assam will also be included in phase- III. J&K will have one a new 101-km long project connecting Srinagar-Baramula-Uri. Tamil Nadu will have 13 projects totalling 1,455 km.

Source (http://www.projectsmonitor.com/detailnews.asp?newsid=12804&secid=41)

Rajasthan Road development Projects-



Rs 3,215 cr. road projects in state

Rahul Kamat

The Rajasthan government has taken up road infrastructure in right earnest with investments of Rs 3,215 crore for 2006. While some road projects are in the planning stage, others are under execution.

At present, the state government is concentrating mainly on big projects such as the Rs 250 crore Bharatpur-Mahua NH-11 project envisaging the upgradation of 55 km of the road under NHDP-III. The work includes rehabilitation and upgradation of the existing two-lane road to four-lane divided roads. The project was made part of the Pradhan Mantri Bharat Jodo Paiyojna and is to be implemented by NHAI.

SREI Infrastructure Finance and Madhucon Projects were awarded the road project on BOT basis, for which an SPV, Madhucon Agra-Jaipur Expressway, was floated. The project is to be completed in two stages and will stretch from km 63 to km 120 at Mahua of NH-11, connecting cities like Bikaner, Jaipur, Bharatpur, Fatehpur Sikhri and Agra. The project is scheduled for completion by April 2008.

The project is part of the BOT road upgradation scheme announced by the state government in its 2003-04 budget, costing Rs 48,000 crore, and which involves upgradation of 622 km roads on BOT basis.
Another one to come under the road upgradation scheme is road upgradation (Rajasthan NH-76) project. The Rs 376 crore project involves rehabilitation and upgradation of 253 km to 316 km of NH-76 to four-lane configuration in Rajasthan, under East West Corridor phase-II program of NHDP. The project would be completed in December 2007.

The Rajasthan government has also undertaken Rs 412 crore Bekaria-Gogunda NH-76 road projects. The project involves construction work on 44 km long NH-76 RJ-2 package from 30 km to 74 km in the Bekaria-Gogunda section. The project will see the light on December 2007. As well as the Rs 985 crore ring road project of Jaipur Development Authority, which is currently under planning stage.

Source (http://www.projectsmonitor.com/detailnews.asp?newsid=12818&secid=153)

Map of NH11
The pointer shows Bharatpur
http://img182.imageshack.us/img182/5444/nh11fs8.jpg

after looking at the map on highways in India, i realised Madhya Pradesh is one state with numerous highways. dude, only if every state in India had that kind of highway infrastructure......

Fast track: NH-8 wins toll race
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/Economy/Infrastructure/Fast_track_NH-8_wins_toll_race/articleshow/1042894.cms

Average toll collection on national highways No. 8 (NH-8) is the highest in the country. It generates Rs 401 crore per month for the Centre.

The Centre gets an average collection of Rs 3 lakh per km from public-funded stretches. On NH-8, the government earns Rs 48.6 lakh per km every month which translates into more than Rs 401 crore for the 827 km stretch that is publicly funded.

The most profitable of the publicly-funded stretches on NH 8 is the Kotputli-Chandwazi section in Rajasthan, with an average collection of more than Rs 7 lakh per kilometre according to NHAI data for November.

“The Delhi-Gurgaon stretch on NH 8 has seen an increase in vehicle traffic from 1,00,000 five years back to almost 2,00,000 vehicles per day at present,” an official in the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) said. In the case of the Bilaspur toll plaza on the 120.5 km long Gurgaon- Kotputli section of NH 8, the total collection made in the month of November was about Rs 5 crore.

“Toll collection depends on two factors, traffic volume and tolling rate. NH 1 and NH 8 carry an enormous volume of traffic in the country,” he said. NH-1comprises of 484.5 km passing through the states of Delhi, Haryana and Punjab. NH 8, which is 1502.78 km long, runs through Delhi, Haryana, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Maharashtra.

NH-1too witnesses heavy toll revenue due to the heavy traffic moving along Panipat, Ambala and Khanna. The average per km toll collection from Panipat-Ambala and Ambala-Khanna is Rs 4.6 lakh and Rs 3 lakh respectively. Amongst the lowest per km toll collections, Rithola-Udaipur in Rajasthan on NH-76 and Bommuru-Gondugolanu on NH-5 in Andhra Pradesh earn the government less than Rs one lakh.

The profitability of tolled national highways has made the sector extremely competitive and attractive. The government has given first preference to build-operate-transfer (BOT) toll projects. So far, 69 projects valued at about Rs 17,247.46 crore have been awarded on BOT toll basis.

after looking at the map on highways in India, i realised Madhya Pradesh is one state with numerous highways. dude, only if every state in India had that kind of highway infrastructure......

Not only MP, other states are also laden with highways with many of them being 2 laned. Rajasthan,UP,Punjab,Tamil Nadu etc are full of highways.

after looking at the map on highways in India, i realised Madhya Pradesh is one state with numerous highways. dude, only if every state in India had that kind of highway infrastructure......


The GQ hasnt covered most of the highways in MP...the highways are more in number in MP but the condition is amongst the worst in India,,horrible.....though not sure if they have been rebuilt under GQ

Soma Enterprise bags 5 road projects worth Rs 1200cr in AP

Source: Moneycontrol.com (http://news.moneycontrol.com/india/news/pressnews/somaenterpriseinfrastructuredevelopers/somaenterprisebags5roadprojectsworthrs1200crap/market/stocks/article/259887)
Soma Enterprise Ltd., one of India’s leading infrastructure developers, today announced that it has been awarded five road projects, worth over Rs.1, 200 crore, in Andhra Pradesh. The projects include the four stretches totaling Rs. 744 crore on the Hyderabad - Bangalore Highway, awarded to the joint venture of Soma Enterprise and China Gezhouba Water & Power (Group) Co. Ltd. (CGGC) on a Cash Contract Basis and the Rs.460 crore Hyderabad - Nagpur (AP–6) Project on BOT (Annuity) basis awarded to the consortium of Soma Enterprise and Avinash Bhosale.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Ankineedu Maganti, Director, Soma Enterprise Ltd, said, “The Government’s decision to promote the PPP route in infrastructure development has created a lot of opportunity for infrastructure developers like us, especially in the roads and highways sector. We are presently executing roads and highway projects worth over Rs.1400 crore across the country and are actively looking at expanding our presence in the sector. With the addition of these projects, our current order book in Roads has crossed Rs. 2500 crores”.

“These five road projects awarded to us are extremely significant, as these will enhance connectivity between the three strategic cities of Hyderabad, Bangalore and Nagpur. The improved connectivity will lead to trade and economic growth in these cities, by giving impetus to local industries. While Hyderabad is an important center for the pharmaceutical, IT, silk and handloom industries, Bangalore is India’s IT hub and Nagpur is one of India’s largest manufacturing centers and is fast developing as a cargo hub for the country. In view of our past track record, we are hopeful of completing these before the stipulated completion period”.

The details of the project are:

Part of the North - South Corridor on NH-7 in Andhra Pradesh, the Hyderabad - Bangalore Project involves four-laning of four stretches from 211 km - 251 km, 251 km - 293.4 km, 376 km - 418 km and 418 km - 463.6 km. The construction period for the all the projects is 30 months.

The Hyderabad-Nagpur Project on NH-7 involves four-laning of the Maharashtra/Andhra Pradesh Border road in Islam Nagar from 175 km to 230 km. The scope of work on the 55 kms stretch includes construction of 3 major bridges, 9 minor bridges and 77 culverts. The concession period for the project is 20 years, including construction period of 24 months.

The GQ hasnt covered most of the highways in MP...the highways are more in number in MP but the condition is amongst the worst in India,,horrible.....though not sure if they have been rebuilt under GQ

True,All highways in Madhya Pradesh are 2 laned except for a stretch of NH3 near Indore. Jhansi-Gwalior stretch comes under the North-South corridor,so it will be 4-6 laned soon. Other than that NH69,59,59A,12 etc are all 2 laned.

Editted to add:
The Gwalior-Jhansi stretch on NH75 would be developed into a 4 laned Expressway and would be around 81Kms

Centre approves Bangalore-Mulbagal highways project (http://www.dailyindia.com/show/99772.php/Centre-approves-Bangalore-Mulbagal-highways-project)

New Delhi, Jan. 4(ANI): The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) gave its approval for four and six laning of Bangalore-Mulbagal National Highway 4.

The project which will be carried out under build, operate and transfer mechanism (BOT) has been approved by Public Private Partnership Approval Committee.

The decision was taken on Thursday's meeting of Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs.

There are many upcoming road and flyover projects across Bangalore and its outskirts, that includes the 85-km Bangalore-Mulbagal road, and a four lane stretch of 74 km Kundapur-Suratkal road. (ANI)

http://img47.imageshack.us/img47/9306/mulbagalik8.jpg

Road construction to be in fast lane soon (http://www.indianexpress.com/story/20121.html)

After a complete slowdown in the pace of construction during 2006, the year 2007 is expected to be a faster ride for roads, say government officials. A system that not only allows for better award of contracts but also for better monitoring and implementation has more or less been put in place through an inter-ministerial discussion process. Pending final approvals, these mainly include:

z A model contract where risks and rewards are properly defined

z A model for the proper restructuring of National highway Authority giving it the required skill sets to take on the various national highway development programmes

z A policy for operation, maintenance and tolling of already constructed highways, in the pipeline for now, which should ensure smooth development of the road sector in the future

A stock-taking of the progress in the road sector shows that over the past couple of years, there seems to be no firm deadline as to when the Golden Quadrilateral (the first of the national highway programmes) would be completed. In fact, as on December 1, a simple calculation shows that of around 27,000 km that has been identified for construction, around 25 per cent of the work has been completed — but 80 per cent of this 25 per cent is on account of the Golden Quadrilateral where work is already completed. The year 2007 will see three issues come to light.

One, land acquisition, one of the prime factors for current delays. But this is more a political question than operational - the Centre needs cooperation from state governments and in 2007 this seems unlikely.

Two, lack of capacity to take on large-scale construction, a rather less realised problem. There are just not enough specialised companies that have the required manpower as well as the skill set to deliver world class highways. It is again unlikely that a problem so huge will get sorted out in 2007, though the first steps towards it will be taken.

Three, safety. With India having one of the highest accident rates, apart from policing, there is a need to ensure that vehicles using the highways are certified for their roadworthiness. Again, this is a long-term problem, that’s unlikely to be addressed in 2007.

It’s still a long road ahead for GQ project

MILES TO GO ON ROAD TO PROGRESS

Our Bureau NEW DELHI

EVEN as the December 31, 2006 deadline has passed, the Golden Quadrilateral (GQ) project is far from complete. Over 370 km of stretch is still under implementation. Land acquisition problems have plagued the ambitious project for a long time.
According to a government report, out of the 5,846 km long GQ project, only 321 km stretch could be completed in 2006. With the progress in 2006, about 5,475 km under the project could be completed. The pace of development was even slower in National Highways Development Programme (NHDP)- II. Only 56 km under the northsouth and east-west corridor project and 32 km under port connectivity project could be completed in 2006.
NHAI awarded 33 contracts of 1405.29 km amounting to Rs 10,134 crore until November 2006. So far, 69 projects valued at about Rs 17,247 crore had been awarded on build-operate-transfer (BOT) toll basis. Out of this, 28 projects was completed and 41 projects are still under progress.
The report also highlighted the slow growth in the shipping sector. The shipping industry registered an increase in gross tonnage from 8.3 million gross tonnage (GT) last year to 8.4 million GT at present. A yearend review of the shipping ministry shows that the ship-building sector has performed well, with the Cochin Shipyard holding an order book position of Rs 4,856 crore at present, up from Rs 737 crore in April 2005.
In the port sector, the 12 major ports handled 423.57 million tonnes of cargo during 2005-06, recording a 10.38% increase over 2004-05. During April-November, 2006, they handled 294.53 million tonnes, 8% over the same period last year.
The ministry is also evaluating the expressions of interest (EoI) from global consultants for finalising the location of a deep draft port in West Bengal. A sum of Rs 10 crore has been kept in the Annual Plan 2006-07 for the purpose.
The national cruise shipping policy is on the anvil. Various aspects of the cruise policy concerning taxation, immigration, connectivity, identification of ports and custom issues are being finalised in consultation with the concerned ministries and agencies.

Anyways,back in June-July, the WB govt approved a pact with Indonesian based Salim group to build an expressway between Barasat and Raichak In return the WB govt has to give them - 5,000 acres for a township in Baruipur and 10 commercial complexes along the road.



Here is a snippet about it

Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee signed a much-hyped deal with the Salim Group of Indonesia for investments up to Rs 20,000 crore in infrastructure development on July 31. Billed the “New Kolkata International Development Project,” the deal includes expressways, bridges, special economic zones, industrial hubs and health and knowledge cities. One of the deal’s components — a proposed 85-km, four-lane expressway from Barasat, headquarters of North 24-Parganas district, to Raichak in South 24-Parganas — has Kolkata environmentalists worried.

The Eastern Link Highway, as it is to be called, will be connected to the Haldia port by a bridge over the Hooghly river. Ten “mini-townships” comprising clusters of commercial complexes with resorts, shops, motels, food courts and gas stations, are proposed along the route. Bhattacharjee hopes the road, which will require the acquisition of roughly 1,000 hectares (ha), will be completed in two years.

Source (http://www.freeindiamedia.com/environment/18_sep1_06.html)

It’s still a long road ahead for GQ project

MILES TO GO ON ROAD TO PROGRESS

Our Bureau NEW DELHI

EVEN as the December 31, 2006 deadline has passed, the Golden Quadrilateral (GQ) project is far from complete. Over 370 km of stretch is still under implementation. Land acquisition problems have plagued the ambitious project for a long time.
According to a government report, out of the 5,846 km long GQ project, only 321 km stretch could be completed in 2006. With the progress in 2006, about 5,475 km under the project could be completed. The pace of development was even slower in National Highways Development Programme (NHDP)- II. Only 56 km under the northsouth and east-west corridor project and 32 km under port connectivity project could be completed in 2006.
NHAI awarded 33 contracts of 1405.29 km amounting to Rs 10,134 crore until November 2006. So far, 69 projects valued at about Rs 17,247 crore had been awarded on build-operate-transfer (BOT) toll basis. Out of this, 28 projects was completed and 41 projects are still under progress.


Really really shocking. I wonder what Con'gress has to blame for this one. The netas have absolutely no sense of urgency when it comes to this nations development.

well 56 kms a year on n-s-e-w, means the highways should be ready come 2150, just in time for the swearing in of sheetal gandhi as pm of india. sweet!

Anyways,back in June-July, the WB govt approved a pact with Indonesian based Salim group to build an expressway between Barasat and Raichak In return the WB govt has to give them - 5,000 acres for a township in Baruipur and 10 commercial complexes along the road.



This is now up in the air. With Trinamool-Naxalite-BJP-Jamaat-CPI-Congress opposition to land aquistion. Various NGOs and activists which are fronts for radicals are reportedly inciting violence. The Naxalites and the Jamaat indulged in violence yesterday. There is very little non agricultural land in South Bengal.

Buddha will probably go slow with this project.

An opinion in Indian Express
http://www.indianexpress.com/story/20121.html

One, land acquisition, one of the prime factors for current delays. But this is more a political question than operational - the Centre needs cooperation from state governments and in 2007 this seems unlikely.

Two, lack of capacity to take on large-scale construction, a rather less realised problem. There are just not enough specialised companies that have the required manpower as well as the skill set to deliver world class highways. It is again unlikely that a problem so huge will get sorted out in 2007, though the first steps towards it will be taken.

___________________

Slow land acquisition delays NH projects
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2006/12/18/stories/2006121800490600.htm

If the national highways in your States have not been completed on time, it is largely because of the State Governments concerned. This is what a Parliamentary Committee on Public Undertakings has said recently. However, there are several other areas where the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and the Ministries concerned need to get their act together, the Committee states, based on its study of the National Highway Development Plan Phase-I (NHDP-I) implementation.

NHDP-I envisages the strengthening and widening of 6,359 km of road length, largely comprising parts of the Golden Quadrilateral.

The lack of steps taken by State governments to acquire land for construction of roads is the main factor for delay in implementation of NHDP-I, according to the Committee report.

In fact, as on July 31 this year, about 2.21 per cent of the entire extent of land to be acquired for NHDP Phase-I was yet to be acquired from the State Governments. As per the State-wise break-up, this included 9.15 per cent of land required for NHDP-I construction in Tamil Nadu, 4.83 per cent in Maharashtra, 4.62 per cent in West Bengal, 2 per cent in Jharkhand and 1.57 per cent in Karnataka.

The Committee also notes that the much-hyped Committee of Secretaries constituted to resolve Centre-State issues and inter-Ministerial coordination held its first sitting on April 1, 2005, five years after the launch of NHDP-I.

well 56 kms a year on n-s-e-w, means the highways should be ready come 2150, just in time for the swearing in of sheetal gandhi as pm of india. sweet!

I think that report doesn't give the full picture. It doesn't say how much of the project (NSEW) has been awarded for work. As per the NHAI site several stretches of the NSEW are "under implementation", while lots of stretches are yet to be awarded or maybe awarded soon. What needs to be seen is how are the projects 'under implementation' faring. If these stretches are expected to be completed in three (to four) years time, then Sheetal Gandhi will have to think of some other projects to inaugurate in 2150.

well, obviously its not going to 2150, not even in india. but point is this is not a project launched this year. the present government too has not just come into power. its a rolling thing, and 56 km is unacceptable for one year. the fault either lies with the work done by the government this year, the last year or the year before that. when were these projects awarded? what is the assurance that the projects awarded this year will not languish at the same pace?

well, obviously its not going to 2150, not even in india. but point is this is not a project launched this year. the present government too has not just come into power. its a rolling thing, and 56 km is unacceptable for one year. the fault either lies with the work done by the government this year, the last year or the year before that. when were these projects awarded? what is the assurance that the projects awarded this year will not languish at the same pace?

I looked at the website.

http://www.nhai.org/completednsew.asp

Over 700 kms of NSEW has been completed as of 30th November 2006 of which 209.17 is EW stretch. (But this total number may be less than actual)

The site is kind of confusing with so many links (chainage, implementation, progress). I added up the numbers quickly. So someone will have to double check.

If 'under implementaion' means work has started, since the average package seems to be 50 kms, it shouldn't take more than 2 years to complete.

Expect congratulatory headlines in 2008-2009 saying suddenly 5000 kms have been completed.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2006-01-29-china-roads_x.htm



China's high-speed expressways, with speed limits of 75 miles per hour, grew by 4,163 miles in 2005 alone and will stretch 3,107 miles farther this year


That has prompted the government to promise 112,000 miles of new rural highways this year alone


From 2001 to 2005, expressways grew by 15,350 miles, more than doubling the total length to 25,480 miles. The United States has 46,000 miles of interstate. By 2020, China is likely to overtake the United States. India has more road miles, but a third are unpaved.




now, compare that to our national highways :ohno: :ohno: :ohno:

Also if you look at it,Most of the Chinese expressways are extraneous,majority of which are hardly used. The commies dont really care about the toll revenue but just want to have them in place. The maglev in Shanghai itself is running into losses,but they hardly seem to care.

Also if you look at it,Most of the Chinese expressways are extraneous,majority of which are hardly used. The commies dont really care about the toll revenue but just want to have them in place. The maglev in Shanghai itself is running into losses,but they hardly seem to care.



that is interesting. and i wouldn't be surprised if that is true for most extent in the isolated valleys in some povinces. but there is no doubt that we need to connect our major traffic corridors and ones with potential with good expressways/highways.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2006-01-29-china-roads_x.htm



China's high-speed expressways, with speed limits of 75 miles per hour, grew by 4,163 miles in 2005 alone and will stretch 3,107 miles farther this year


That has prompted the government to promise 112,000 miles of new rural highways this year alone


From 2001 to 2005, expressways grew by 15,350 miles, more than doubling the total length to 25,480 miles. The United States has 46,000 miles of interstate. By 2020, China is likely to overtake the United States. India has more road miles, but a third are unpaved.




now, compare that to our national highways :ohno: :ohno: :ohno:

Compared to India, land acquisition is not that big a problem in China. In India that is the biggest problem with every neta fighting pitched battles to protect the poor whose lands are being eyed by the evil corporates. Yup, Naga makes valid points.

The highway to a metro's success

Watch video:

http://www.ibnlive.com/videos/30598/the-highway-to-a-metros-success.html

Once upon a time, rivers were the cradle of civilisation; but in 21 century India, the stakes have shifted to the country's spanking new highways. These new roads may literally take you home, like it happened for Pranav Singh - a Kolkattan who decided to explore residential options while driving down the shining, brand new GQ. Says he, "'We were driving down to Ajmer, we saw the place, we liked the ambiance, and decided to make an investment. We might go in for investment as a second home." The wasteland is finally yielding gold and highways have sparked off a construction boom, welding money with habitations. One simply can't stop counting the beginnings of future townships. Says a property consultant, Anurag Jain, "Previously, there was no major development. The road condition was not that good. People used to get stuck, and they never wanted the highway drive. But now, because of these expressways being developed, people are driving through highways - they are changing their way of life."
Property prices that will never come sliding down, and it appreciates thrice if it's next to the highway. "As far as the highway is concerned, two-and-a-half-years ago, land parcels available along the highway used to cost Rs 10 to 15 lakh rupees a bigha. Now, the prices have appreciated to Rs 80 to 90 lakh rupees a bigha," adds Anurag Jain. The gold rush has begun and for the salaried middle class, that second apartment may just be a few hours drive down the new highway. So, book your dream home now, all the mini-townships around highways become unaffordable.

KMP Expressways achieves financial closure of BOT project (http://www.moneycontrol.com/india/news/pressnews/kmpexpresswaysspecialpurposevehicle/kmpexpresswaysachievesfinancialclosurebotproject/market/stocks/article/260449)

KMP Expressways Ltd., the Special Purpose Vehicle executing the Kundli-Manesar-Palwal Expressway, today announced that it has achieved the financial closure for the Kundli - Manesar – Palwal Expressways Project awarded by Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructural Development Corporation (HSIIDC). The KMP Expressway, also known as the western peripheral expressway is the largest expressway project in the country on Build Operate Transfer (BOT) basis. Out of the total cost of Rs.1915 crore, the SPV has tied up a debt of Rs. 1149 Crore, through a consortium of 12 banks/financial institutions led by IDBI Ltd. The arrangers for the debt are SBI Capital Markets Ltd. and IDBI Ltd.


KMP Expressway project on BOT basis envisages construction of the 135.6 Km, access controlled expressway from NH-1 near Kundli (Sonipat) crossing NH-10 at west of Bahadurgarh, crossing NH-8 at Manesar (Gurgaon) and joining NH-2 near Palwal (Faridabad). The work on the project has already begun and is scheduled for completion by July 2009.

Mr. Deepak Chatterjee, Senior Vice President, SBI Capital Markets Ltd. added “We are pleased to be associated with India’s largest BOT expressway project and one of the most significant in the PPP infrastructure development sector, as the lead arranger for the debt. The strengths built up into the SPV company in engineering construction, project management and the expertise to handle the challenge of complex infrastructure development and its ability to invest helped us get an overwhelming response for more than the debt requirement from 12 leading banks/Institutions including IDBI, SBI & Associates and IIFCL, among others.”

Making the announcement of the Financial Closure, Mr. H.S. Kohli, Chairman, KMP Expressways Ltd. said, “This project promises a huge growth potential for the entire region and will trigger prosperity along the expressway. We are proud to be the concessionaires of this prestigious project, which is in consonance with our Government’s dream called PURA - Providing Urban amenities to Rural Areas.”


“KMP Expressway project will match international standards of quality infrastructure. We have deployed state-of-the-art equipment with emphasis on aesthetics. We are confident that once completed, the expressway will create a benchmark in the pleasure of driving/commuting experience for years to come”, Mr. Kohli added.



Progress on the project


More than 98% of the land has already been acquired by HSIIDC and handed over to KMP Expressways Ltd. The Concessionaire has also put in place its Project Team. Topographical surveys, Sub-soil investigations, detailed Design of Highway and Structures, the Project Camp sites, etc. have already been completed. 95% progress has been achieved for the Survey and Center Line Marking. Required permissions from various departments have been obtained/ are being obtained. The execution of the project has been divided into 3 packages of 45 km each to be supervised by a Senior Project Manager. Earthwork and cross drainage work is in progress. More than Rs. 100 crores has already been invested into the project by the concessionaire.


Mr. Rajeev Arora, MD, HSIIDC present at the occasion said, “HSIIDC is proud to be the implementing agency of the largest expressway project in India. The Corporation envisages the Kundli-Manesar-Palwal Expressway to metamorphose the state of Haryana. Our vision is to replicate industrial and economic development in entire region on International standards. The expressway will provide high-speed link to Northern Haryana with its Southern districts such as Sonipat, Jhajjar, Gurgaon & Faridabad, thereby giving boost to the local economy.”

On the benefits accruing from the KMP Expressway to the state, Mr. Arora opined, “The State Government has been promoting public and private sector initiative for establishing world class infrastructure in Haryana. The development of this Global Urban Corridor along Kundli - Manesar – Palwal (KMP) Western Peripheral Expressways will give impetus to Real Estate, Special Economic Zones (SEZ), Independent townships/cities, Industrial Model Townships (IMT) Food Processing Units, Medicity, Financial Hubs, Tourist Resorts, Education City, Satellite Dwelling Units (SDU), etc. This will not only boost investor confidence but also provide world-class living and commuting experience. The Expressway will prove to be the backbone for the entire Industrial and Residential hubs coming up in the region.”

Malaysia offers to build expressways (http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=151178)


NEW DELHI, JAN 8: The Malaysian government has roped in about a dozen companies and proposes to build a network of national expressways spanning 7,000 km.

The project, to be executed on a build-operate-transfer basis in a phased manner, envisages two expressways: one linking Thiruvananthapuram, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Pune; the other connecting Delhi and Kolkata.


Malaysian cabinet minister of works Dato Seri S Samy Vellu told FE that 11 Malaysian companies, including IJM, United Engineers Malaysia Group and Ranhill Corporation, were keen on the project. “The expressway will pave the way for investors pumping in money to set up units along (the expressways). However, land acquisition will have to be done by the Indian government,” he said.


If the proposal passes muster with the Indian government, it could well turn out to be the biggest foreign direct investment in a road project in the country.Infrastructure funding experts estimate the project to cost at least Rs 42,000-56,000 crore, given the ballpark cost of Rs 6-8 crore a km, depending on terrain.

Vellu said the consortium, backed by the Malaysian government, would also ask India to extend a budgetary grant to the project. In India, BOT leases typically have a 20-year concession period. At present, Mumbai-Pune is the only expressway and two others, Delhi-Jaipur and Vadodara- Mumbai, are being planned.

“Toll revenues are expected to be significant,” Vellu, who is president of the Malaysian Indian Congress and one of the longest serving ministers in the cabinet, told FE along the sidelines of the Pravasi Bhartiya Divas 2007, organised by the ministry of overseas Indian affairs and supported by the Delhi government and the Confederation of Indian Industry.

When contacted, Vinayak Chatterjee, chairman, Feedback Ventures, said India did not have a specific policy for government-to-government projects. “Globally, such projects are not necessarily viable, and are funded through public investment,” he said.

Fast Lane

• Length 7,000 km
• Cost Rs 56,000 crore
• Phase I
Thiruvananthapuram, Chennai, Hyderabad and Pune
• Phase II
New Delhi to Kolkata

I remember something similar to this by the govt of Malaysia was floated about some time ago. But this plan seems more concrete than the previous one. Here is what the minister from Malaysia also had to say -

Developing new "independent expressways" connecting Chennai, Bangalore, Thiruvananthapuram and Pune is his dream, which he hopes will become a reality very soon. A Delhi-Kolkata expressway and a Pune-Madhya Pradesh-Delhi road link is also part of his grand India plan.
Sourcehttp://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/NRIs_mix_business_with_Gandhigiri/articleshow/1094389.cms

Also if you look at it,Most of the Chinese expressways are extraneous,majority of which are hardly used. The commies dont really care about the toll revenue but just want to have them in place. The maglev in Shanghai itself is running into losses,but they hardly seem to care.

road first, then other things.

road first, then other things.

I wouldnt want to argue over Chinese roads,but a well established fact of the matter is that the new Chinese highways being built and also which have been built recently - majority of them are extraneous,just like some of the Ring Roads in Beijing,if I am correct.

Beijing's 5th Ring Road
Beijingers soon learned to avoid this priced path at all costs, preferring to sit out hours in jams on the 4th Ring Road and roads more central to Beijing. Thus, the 5th Ring Road became a virtually "wasted" ring expressway. As a result, this expressway was the subject of a heated debate in 2003. It seemed apparent that the 5th Ring Road was made just for those who could afford both the petrol and the tolls. Meanwhile, it became a kind of an unofficial test track for new drivers, who racked up spectacular (and, strictly speaking, illegal) speeds on the nearly empty expressway.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5th_Ring_Road

road first, then other things.

I guess Chinese are right to some extent and wrong in others. They are right to have built massive network of expressways. It almost always makes sense to make sure one can set up business anywhere in the country without any infrastructural downturns.

On the other hand it also seems like if there is not enough demand for the projects they initiate, the unit can become sick- as the Maglev. No wonder, Amercia doesn't have nay Maglev.

In India we often look for exccuses for things we haven't done. Having a non-existant raod-network till a few years back was reasoned out as there wasn't enough demand. Now that they are there none of those earlier excuses come into mind.. The good thing in India is that its moving in thr right direction, through slowly- but shall catch up.

We have a good democratic system, people have started to vote for development and not caste/religion, we have the RTI, etc., the GOI has dealt harshly where its needs to (Airport Provatization).

These are great signs..

road first, then other things.

This is the basic difference between the Chinese and the Indian model. While the Chinese model is supply driven, the Indian model has always been demand driven because our governments have always been very slow to get off their feet.

I would like the Indian system to have a little supply driven development too though, but for that we need politicians with vision, of which we have very few.

I guess Chinese are right to some extent and wrong in others. They are right to have built massive network of expressways. It almost always makes sense to make sure one can set up business anywhere in the country without any infrastructural downturns.

On the other hand it also seems like if there is not enough demand for the projects they initiate, the unit can become sick- as the Maglev. No wonder, Amercia doesn't have nay Maglev.

In India we often look for exccuses for things we haven't done. Having a non-existant raod-network till a few years back was reasoned out as there wasn't enough demand. Now that they are there none of those earlier excuses come into mind.. The good thing in India is that its moving in thr right direction, through slowly- but shall catch up.

We have a good democratic system, people have started to vote for development and not caste/religion, we have the RTI, etc., the GOI has dealt harshly where its needs to (Airport Provatization).

These are great signs..
i dont believe democracy, sorry, but you can hold your opinion.:)
in east eara,chinese express way are not empty, it's very busy. only in vast west eara, empty.
as for maglev, maybe loss in cash, but the benifit from this maglev to push economy forward has to be considerided.

I wouldnt want to argue over Chinese roads,but a well established fact of the matter is that the new Chinese highways being built and also which have been built recently - majority of them are extraneous,just like some of the Ring Roads in Beijing,if I am correct.

Beijing's 5th Ring Road
Beijingers soon learned to avoid this priced path at all costs, preferring to sit out hours in jams on the 4th Ring Road and roads more central to Beijing. Thus, the 5th Ring Road became a virtually "wasted" ring expressway. As a result, this expressway was the subject of a heated debate in 2003. It seemed apparent that the 5th Ring Road was made just for those who could afford both the petrol and the tolls. Meanwhile, it became a kind of an unofficial test track for new drivers, who racked up spectacular (and, strictly speaking, illegal) speeds on the nearly empty expressway.
As a frequent Chinese traveler to US, China and India. Here're some facts and my 2 cents:

Beijing's Ring road was built mainly to support the non-stopping expansion of the city's scale. But I agree at a point that I don't think the BJ highway layout is a success since Beijing's traffic jam is still the worst around China. I use the BJ 5th Ring road to go to airport but I feel the traffic on that highway is heavy every time. :|

BJ will even finish the building of its 6th expressway ring road before 2008 olympics but I don't think it'll will release the traffic jam around the city.

So when I talked with my Hyderabad friends on the HYD ORR (Outer Ring Road), I'm pretty negative that it can resolve a thing or two to local traffic.

IMO the only city jam solution is to develop public transportations like subways and BRTs.

As for infrastructure construction, I believe it's a must-have to build the backbone expressway network around the country to develop the manufacturing industry and narrow the gap between different regions;

A maglev of 35km can never make a profit. The Shanghai maglev is more like a experiment line built mainly for Siemens technology transfer for something big. China has a plan (in hot debate :) )to use maglev as an alternative to its high speed railways network.

Most of the Chinese highways and railways are funded by the local government, banks and private sectors. Many of them filed IPOs on the stock market. Normally the central government allows them to run it in a period of 20 to 30 years (like what happened in US). So they do care of their profitability. Just keep in mind that China is a hyper capitalistic country now (more capitalistic than most western countries), if you ask anybody who has stayed in China, with an authoritarian government. :nuts:

Someone pointed out this article to me.. Don't necessarily agree with it but an interesting view point..

Sunita Narain: Economics without mind and matter
http://www.business-standard.com/common/storypage.php?storyflag=y&leftnm=4&leftindx=4&subLeft=2&autono=268377

The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) records that in 2006, India has produced over 10 million vehicles. This yardstick makes it clear that the economy’s fundamentals are buoyant.

I have no quarrel with this. But I do find this economic assessment rather incomplete and simplistic. There are five, at the very minimum, costs that have to be added to the price of the manufacture of each vehicle.

First, there is the cost of building a road. Second, there is the cost of maintaining roads, the cost of policing on the road, the cost of powering the millions of traffic lights. Third, the crippling cost of local air pollution and bad health which requires monitoring, control and regulation. Added to this, is evidence that vehicles are key contributors to pollution, which is feeding climate change and will require even bigger costs to be paid. Fourth, there is the cost of congestion, which every motorist on a busy road imposes on fellow travellers — from delays which cost time to increased fuel consumption which costs money. And fifth, there is the cost of space for parking of the vehicle — at home and at work.

We need to ask why economists, who normally rant about markets, the need for full cost pricing and removal of subsidies, never account for these costs in their calculations of growth. After all, the cold logic of the market, repeatedly cited when it comes to the meagre support given to farmers, should apply here as well. Could it be that our economists are so vertically integrated — with mind and matter — to the market that these distortions fail to catch their attention?

Take roads, for instance. Cities invest in roads, but fight the losing Battle of the Bulge — congestion. These roads occupy space — real estate — and are costly to build and maintain. It would be logical economics of the market that if something expensive is given away free, people will overuse it. Why then should this dictum not be applied to roads?

The issue of who should pay is simple: the user. But what is often not understood is the nature — colour and class — of the “real” user of the public largesse in our economies. While in the western world, the car has replaced the bus or bicycle, in our world, it has only marginalised its space. Therefore, even in a rich city like Delhi, cars and two-wheelers carry less than 20 per cent of the city’s commuting passengers. The rest are transported by buses, bicycles or other means. But the operational fact is that these cars and two-wheelers occupy over 90 per cent of the city’s road space. Therefore, it is evident that the user of the public space and the beneficiary of public largesse — the road, flyover or elevated highway — is the person in the car or two-wheeler.

Cars do not only cost on the road. They also cost when they are parked. The fact is that personal vehicles are parked for roughly 90 per cent of the time and the land they occupy is costly. Cars occupy more space for parking than what we need to work in our office: 23 sq metres to park a car, against 15 sq meters to park a desk. My colleagues have estimated that the one million-odd cars in Delhi would take up roughly 11 per cent of the city’s urban area. Green spaces in the city take up roughly the same.

Ultimately, the issue is not even what it costs. The issue is why we are not computing the costs or estimating its losses.

Malaysia offers Rs 50k cr for expressways in India
Arun S
Posted online: Tuesday, January 09, 2007 at 0000 hrs Print Email

New Delhi, January 8: The Malaysian government has roped in about a dozen companies and proposes to build a network of national expressways spanning 7,000 km.

The project, to be executed on a build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis in a phased manner, envisages two expressways: one linking Thiruvananthapuram, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Pune; the other connecting Delhi and Kolkata.

Malaysian cabinet minister of works Dato Seri S. Samy Vellu said that 11 Malaysian companies, including IJM, United Engineers Malaysia Group and Ranhill Corporation, were keen on the project. “The expressway will also pave the way for investors pumping in money to set up units along (the expressways). However, land acquisition will have to be done by the Indian government,” he said.

If the proposal passes muster with the Indian government, it could well turn out to be the biggest foreign direct investment (FDI) in a road project in the country. Infrastructure funding experts estimate the project to cost at least Rs 42,000-56,000 crore, given the ballpark cost of Rs 6-8 crore per expressway km, depending on terrain.

Vellu said the consortium, backed by the Malaysian government, would also ask India to extend a budgetary grant to the project. In India, BOT leases typically have a 20-year concession period. At present, Mumbai-Pune is the only expressway in the country and two others, Delhi-Jaipur and Vadodara-Mumbai, are being planned.

“Toll revenues are expected to be significant,” Vellu, who is president of the Malaysian Indian Congress and one of the longest serving ministers in the cabinet, said along the sidelines of the Pravasi Bhartiya Divas 2007, organised by the ministry of overseas Indian affairs and supported by the Delhi government and the Confederation of Indian Industry.

When contacted, Vinayak Chatterjee, chairman, Feedback Ventures, said India did not have a specific policy for government-to-government projects. “Globally, such projects are not necessarily viable, and are funded through public investment,” he said.

Source IE [http://www.indianexpress.com/story/20431.html]

The project, to be executed on a build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis in a phased manner, envisages two expressways: one linking Thiruvananthapuram, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Pune; the other connecting Delhi and Kolkata.


Some how the Kolkata-delhi expressway doesn't make sense. There is already the GQ connecting it.

i hope the malaysian project really takes off.

and yes, finally there's somebody talking of an expressway from Hyd to Pune. though situation was reall bad a decade ago, the naxalite problem has come down considerably but their cells are still active in parts of north telangana. if this expressway can bring investments into this region, it will go a long way in alleviating the ppl's suffering as well as encouraging the gov't to invest more in education and healthcare in this area.

Rajasthan's new highway to prosperity

Watch (http://www.ibnlive.com/videos/30775/rajasthans-new-highway-to-prosperity.html) the video @CNN-IBN

Huh? It's hilarious to see socialist scumbags taunt the license raj :bash:

Some how the Kolkata-delhi expressway doesn't make sense. There is already the GQ connecting it.

the gw also already connects bombay-pune-bangalore-madras

but these are the high traffic corridors i guess

Highway becomes road to high life

Watch (http://www.ibnlive.com/videos/30885/highway-becomes-road-to-high-life.html) the video@CNN-IBN

Indiansunite.......................thanks. nice video
Highway becomes road to high life
Watch (http://www.ibnlive.com/videos/30885/highway-becomes-road-to-high-life.html) the video@CNN-IBN

http://www.ibnlive.com/videos/30705/smooth-roads-to-milk-and-marble.html

http://www.ibnlive.com/videos/30999/rajasthan-gets-smooth-ticket-to-ride.html

Some how the Kolkata-delhi expressway doesn't make sense. There is already the GQ connecting it.

Even Bangalore-Hyderabad is getting upgraded into four lanes part of NSEW project and construction is at full swing.

The proposal is by a private firm to upgrade (or build new, not clear at this point) high density corridors into toll expressways. I could see lot of demand especially for techies between HYD & BLR. Its only 300 KM. If they can travel in less than three hours, lot of people love to drive.

^^
Its only 300 KM.

Blore-Hyd is about 570Km,none the less,its true that a lot of people love to drive + it'll be good for the techies shuttling b/w the 2 cities.

btw did anyone know there existed an expressway between Paradip and Daitari in Orissa? It lies on NH200 and is about 150km long. Dont know if its a true expressway(Access controlled) or they just call it like that. It serves as the mineral lifeline to the state.

Paradip is E
Daitari is S
http://img209.imageshack.us/img209/286/orissaexpresswayzk6.jpg

Also,there exists a Vadodara-Halol expressway in Gujarat which actually is a State Highway. Its 4 laned and about 32kms and was opened back in 2000

http://www.ahmedabad.com/news/2k/nov/17halol.htm

http://img409.imageshack.us/img409/8648/halolnq1.jpg

some NH projects in KN.

National highways around Bangalore promise smooth inter-city drive
Expressways around Bangalore are on the fast lane to completion
The Times of India

Major national h i g h w ay s linking Bangalore to other States are being revamped to bridge distances in more ways than one. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has earmarked NH4, NH7 and NH48 for a major development spree with latest engineering technology employed in road-making, according to a highly placed official of the central body.
Hosur Road to Electronic City
One of the most significant projects undertaken by the NHAI is on the National Highway (NH)7 passing through Hosur Road right across Electronic City. This stretch is a crucial link passing through the IT hub of the city connecting it to the Tamil Nadu border. The NHAI has undertaken the construction of an elevated expressway running at a 10 km stretch from the Silk Board Junction in the city to Electronic City on the outskirts. The six-lane elevated highway will have a six-lane main carriageway being constructed at ground level with four-lane service roads connecting it to the other arterial roads. There will be four pedestrian underpasses located at crucial junctions in the highway.
Progress on the development work on this section is on schedule and has been slated to be complete by July 2008. In the second phase of the highway stretch running from Electronic City to the Tamil Nadu border, work on the 15 km road will feature six-lanes and five pedestrian underpasses. Work on this project will be flagged off next month and is scheduled to be completed in 15 months.
Bangalore to Devanahalli The next phase of road development work on NH7 will involve the portion of the highway linking Bangalore to Hyderabad running across from Devanahalli via Chikkaballapur to the Andhra Pradesh border. This 60 km stretch will be a fourlane expressway for which work has been awarded after calling for bids and development work should begin in a couple of months.
Bangalore to Nelamangala
An access-controlled highway will be the main feature of the project planned for a portion of NH4 which links Bangalore to Nelamangala. This four-lane highway will have two components where one will be an elevated highway stretching for 4.5 km within Peenya.
The second component of the NH4 project will feature the stretch from Bangalore to Chennai, passing through Kolar and Mulbagal right up to Hoskote. 80 km of the highway will have six-lanes while the remaining length will narrow to a four-lane one. Four works on this project have been awarded.
Bangalore to Mangalore via Hassan
Another project that will go underway in four to six weeks time will be on NH48 linking Bangalore to Mangalore via Nelamangala and Hassan. Presently, the portion of the highway earmarked will span 160 km.
Salient features
All the three highways will be elevated expressways appointed with state-of-theart lighting fixtures, cats' eyes, reflectors and pedestrian underpasses at strategically viable junctions. The pedestrian underpasses will make crossing roads during peak traffic hours easy. The six-laning of all these roads will be on by January end this year after tying up loose ends involving land acquisition.

India's on the golden track

Part1
http://www.ibnlive.com/videos/31157/indias-on-the-golden-track.html

Part2:
http://www.ibnlive.com/videos/31157/01_2007/onthe_golden_track2/video-kids-chat-up-sunita-in-space.html

Part3
http://www.ibnlive.com/videos/31157/01_2007/onthe_golden_track3/video-kids-chat-up-sunita-in-space.html

India's on the golden track

Part1
http://www.ibnlive.com/videos/31157/indias-on-the-golden-track.html

Part2:
http://www.ibnlive.com/videos/31157/01_2007/onthe_golden_track2/video-kids-chat-up-sunita-in-space.html

Part3
http://www.ibnlive.com/videos/31157/01_2007/onthe_golden_track3/video-kids-chat-up-sunita-in-space.html

That's the entire episode ! Very Cool.. Thanks a lot indiansunite !!!

NHAI receives Rs 1,368 cr for NHDP (http://www.business-standard.com/economy/storypage.php?tab=r&autono=271529&subLeft=1&leftnm=3)

In what can be termed as a success of the public-private partnership (PPP) initiative in the highway sector, nine projects under various phases of the National Highway Development Programme (NHDP) have generated funds to the tune of Rs 1,368 crore between January 2006 and December 2006.

These funds have been received by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) for projects falling under the second, third and fifth phases of the NHDP.

According to the highways ministry sources, the concessionaires paid money in advance to the NHAI to bag the projects. This mostly happens for stretches where concessionaires foresee good returns through traffic density.

As per rules, the government pays 40 per cent grant to concessionaires for highway projects, subject to competitive bidding.

However, in certain projects (normally those with good traffic density), if
a concessionaire feels he can recover his costs well within the concession period, he offers money in advance to NHAI instead of seeking grant. It also shows the concessionaire’s confidence in the viability of the project.

During the whole of last year, the NHAI’s rate of issuing contracts was quite poor. In fact, seven of these nine projects were awarded in 2005, when NHAI had issued a large number of contracts.

Two of these projects were awarded in December 2006 by the government. In such a scenario, the concessionaires’ increased enthusiasm, shown through upfront payment, has indeed come as a shot in the arm for NHAI.

Of these nine projects, five fall under phase II of the NHDP. The NHAI has received Rs 96 crore for the Rs 270 crore Panipat elevated highway work from L&T Ltd, while for the Rs 267 crore Farukhanagar-Kottakata stretch, it has received Rs 70 crore upfront from the consortium of GMR Energy Ltd and GMR Infrastructure Ltd.

For the Rs 372 crore stretch between Krishnagiri and Thopurghat, it has received Rs 140 crore upfront from L&T Krishnagiri Thopurghat Toll Road Pvt Ltd, while for the Rs 472 crore Indore-Khalghat stretch, it has got Rs 6 crore upfront from the Oriental Structural Engineers Pvt Ltd-Delhi Brass consortium. For the Rs 195 crore Agra-Bharatpur stretch, NHAI has received Rs 3 crore upfront from the aforementioned consortium.

NHDP phase III, which involves four-laning of 4,000 km of national highways, has two projects for which the NHAI has received the money upfront. For the Guna bypass project worth Rs 46 crore, it has received Rs 19 crore from Guna Infrastructure Ltd. For the Rs 556 crore Dhule-Pimpalgaon stretch, NHAI has received Rs 59 crore upfront from IRCON-Soma consortium.

In December 2006, the NHAI received Rs 504 crore upfront for the Bharuch-Surat section. This is the highest ever amount it has received in advance for any project. The concessionaire is IDAA Infrastructure Pvt Ltd.

The project for which NHAI received the second highest amount upfront was the 83 km long Vadodara-Bharuch section on NH-8, worth Rs 660 crore (also under phase V), awarded to Larson & Toubro Vadodara Bharuch Tollway Ltd. The concessionaire paid Rs 471 crore to NHAI.

thanks for those videos. made my day.

http://img167.imageshack.us/img167/7424/getimagejn0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

A trailer on its way to Pune from Chinchwad crashed through and uprooted the heavy-vehicle barricade (seen lodged on top of the trailer) at Morwadi on Thursday. The vehicle, which was trying to enter the grade separator, was later stopped at Pimpri chowk. This is the third instance of a vehicle breaking the barricade.

^^ Now, it's time that lorry drivers should understand that our roads have changed.

India's on the golden track

Part1
http://www.ibnlive.com/videos/31157/indias-on-the-golden-track.html

Part2:
http://www.ibnlive.com/videos/31157/01_2007/onthe_golden_track2/video-kids-chat-up-sunita-in-space.html

Part3
http://www.ibnlive.com/videos/31157/01_2007/onthe_golden_track3/video-kids-chat-up-sunita-in-space.html

Highways are going high.. nice

^^ Now, it's time that lorry drivers should understand that our roads have changed.

The authorities must go after erring transport companies. In most cases, the drivers have very little or no say in the goods that they are carrying. Things will not change if the transport companies are not reprimanded.

On a side note, I noticed more and more covered trucks in my recent trip to India. I definitely noticed the trend towards higher-capacity trucks and away from open tarpaulin-covered cargo areas. The photo above shows the kind of trucks that are increasingly seen. The market does not seem to have moved yet to very high-power Volvos and equivalents (the inter-city bus market has shown a trend). But it is a natural progression, that moves hand in hand with the development of highway infrastructure.

New Bypass on NH4 near Pune passing through the Katraj Ghats - around 10kms long Has 2 Tunnels each about 1.2 kms and a Bridge.
Images from NHAI's Monthly magazine.

http://img226.imageshack.us/img226/2088/bypass19jt.jpg

http://img411.imageshack.us/img411/5641/bypass21mo.jpg

_________________


NH5
http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/9514/nh56xs.jpg

i used the karjat tunnels two weeks back. pretty cool

the rest of the highway though needs to have better management in terms of separating it from pedestrians and cattle

http://img295.imageshack.us/img295/1866/a8m4gx.jpg

what is the grey section???

Golden Quadrilateral :llama:

yeah......sorry...that was a stupid question.