National Expressways can even exceed the speed of 120 kilometres per hour. Notably, the speed of most of the national expressways is around 130 to 140 kilometres per hour.
In a significant development, the National Highway Authority of India recently designated Bihar’s only road between Patna and Purnia districts as a National Expressway. While we have heard a lot about highways and expressways, are we exactly aware of what a National Expressway is? When does a road receive the status of being a National Expressway? Let’s delve deeper into this story to unlock some of these queries.
The status of National Expressway is accorded to roads in the country that meet very high standards. Along with supporting high speed, these roads also offer access control. The expressways are built for long distances, meant for high-speed traffic.
National Expressways can even exceed the speed of 120 kilometres per hour. Notably, the speed of most of the national expressways is around 130 to 140 kilometres per hour.
What is a national expressway, and how does a road get designated as one?
- A National Expressway status is granted only to those expressways that can support an average speed of 120 km/h or more.
- Having a minimum of six lanes, an expressway may expand to eight lanes in the future.
- National Expressways does not have any side entrances; only fully interchanged or access-controlled entrances are available.
- A National Expressway has no crossings. It is equipped with only flyovers and underpasses.
- This type of road has no slow vehicle lanes, such as tractor, bike, or bicycle lanes.
- A National Expressway typically connects two or more states and is highly traffic-intensive.
- When an expressway achieves all the criteria mentioned above, the Ministry of Highways and the National Highway Authority of India grant the road the designation of National Expressway.
The 282-kilometre greenfield expressway, which runs from Patna to Purnia, got the status of National Expressway in August. Designated as National Expressway-9, or NE-9, this is Bihar’s first expressway, built entirely within the state’s borders, and meets high standards.
Following are the expressways which have been designated as National Expressways:
- The 1,386-kilometer Delhi-Mumbai Expressway.
- The 210-kilometer Delhi-Dehradun Expressway.
- The 701-kilometer Samruddhi Expressway, connecting Nagpur to Mumbai.
Under Construction:
- The 650-kilometer Delhi-Katna Expressway.
- The 594-kilometer Ganga Expressway from Meerut to Prayagraj.
- The 262-kilometer Bengaluru-Chennai Expressway.
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