Indian Roads Thread

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vsunder
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Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by vsunder »

Delhi to Dehradun Expressway

This is an under construction limited access controlled expressway. Currently it takes 6-7 hours by road to Dehradun from Delhi. I have only traveled by air to Jolly Grant airport in Dehradun from Delhi and then started on my hiking expeditions into the Himalayas. The expressway will cut the time to 2-3 hours driving time and provides easy access to Haridwar, Rishikesh and Uttarakhand and Char Dham and the Tehri regions. It cuts the EDFC and links to Shamli, Baghpat and Saharanpur. 210 km length. Current road is 235km in length. 4 packages and in parts 12 lanes upto Baghpat, partly greenfield and after Baghpat 6 lanes to Dehradun from Baghpat.

The under-construction Delhi-Saharanpur-Dehradun Expressway is a part of Bharatmala Pariyojana that will connect Delhi's Akshardham to Dehradun in Uttarakhand in less than three hours. The project will pass through three States, including Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand to ease traffic movement.

The Central Government approved the project in early 2020, with Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister of India, laying the foundation stone for the same on December 4, 2021. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is supervising the project and bears the onus for awarding construction contracts.

The project's initial estimated cost is Rs 13,000 crore, and the completion deadline is December 2024. The expressway will cater to approximately 20,000-30,000 Passenger Car Units (PCUs) per day, with a minimum driving speed of 100 km per hour.


https://youtu.be/4Sq-He4BWiI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KX88O-k_av4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjrfdQQ90cY
Anujan
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Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by Anujan »

There was a speech I head from Nitin Gadkari-ji about pace of road-building, couldnt help but share
"When there is a will, there is a way, if there is no will, there is only survey"
:rotfl:
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Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by sanman »

vsunder
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Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by vsunder »

Mumbai Trans Harbor Link. Starts at Sewri and ends at Nhava Sheva JNPT. Completion December 2023. Started 2018 after PILs this that and the other. There are Flamingos in the Sewri mudflats. A temporary bridge of 5.6km has been constructed for construction vehicles. This temporary bridge was to be demolished but now will be retained as an observation deck forthe flamingos.

6 lane expressway that is 21.8 km(13.5 miles) long across the "sea" just a bit north of Elephanta island. Will provide access from Mumbai to the new Mumbai International airport coming up. Originally Metro tracks were to be built under this highway, but now scrapped. Gold line of Mumbai metro is supposed to follow this route to new Mumbai airport. As of April 95% complete. By end May, road deck should be done. By July loops and ramps are to be completed.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XA3f3E8bQW8

AGL(Airport Ground lighting system) of new Mumbai airport is being installed currently. New Mumbai International airport will be run by Adani and completion is targeted for (Phase I ) Dec 2024.
Last edited by vsunder on 03 May 2023 22:58, edited 1 time in total.
vsunder
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Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by vsunder »

Sela tunnel to Tawang to open next month June 2023. 12.4km approach road is getting readied and final finishing works going on inside the tunnel including laying the road surface inside the tunnel. A poor video which says none of this but does say the to be opened June-July or some such thing. Why does this lady use the colonial pronunciation A-Sam for Assam?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtVFsOsxcmU
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Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by Y I Patel »

vsunder wrote:Sela tunnel to Tawang to open next month June 2023. 12.4km approach road is getting readied and final finishing works going on inside the tunnel including laying the road surface inside the tunnel. A poor video which says none of this but does say the to be opened June-July or some such thing. Why does this lady use the colonial pronunciation A-Sam for Assam?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtVFsOsxcmU
Much anticipated, great news!!!
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Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by VinodTK »

Times Of India
Taking the high road: India infrastructure drive counters China
ZEMITHANG: Freshly laid roads, bridges, upgraded military camps, and new civilian infrastructure dot the winding high Himalayan route to the Indian frontier village of Zemithang — which China renamed last month to press its claim to the area.
It is in the far northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh, almost all of which Beijing insists falls under its sovereignty as "South Tibet".
The Asian giants fought a war in 1962 over their 3,500-kilometre (2,200-mile) divide, now known as the Line of Actual Control, and it remains disputed to this day, with sporadic clashes and regular diplomatic manoeuvres.

Culturally largely Tibetan, Arunachal Pradesh is savage territory for battle, with mountain passes as high as 4,750 metres (15,000 feet) still covered in snowdrifts as late as May, and thickly forested slopes lower down.
Now both powers are engaged in major construction drives to reinforce their positions.

New Delhi bristled at Beijing's announcement renaming Zemithang — dubbed "Bangqin" — and 10 other sites in April.

External affairs ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said the state "is, has been, and will always be an integral and inalienable part of India", adding: "Attempts to assign invented names will not alter this reality."

Beijing has sought to change the facts by force before.

emithang, just a few kilometres from the boundary, and picture-postcard Tawang, the main town in the district — home to the biggest and oldest Tibetan Buddhist monastery outside Lhasa — were both seized by Chinese forces in 1962 as they inflicted a humiliating defeat on Indian troops before retreating.

The Indian Army officer charged with preventing a repetition is Brigadier NM Bendigeri, who commands thousands of troops in Tawang.

Hundreds of his men clashed with Chinese forces in December.

And three years ago in Ladakh, at the western end of the frontier, 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers were killed in brutal hand-to-hand combat.

Beijing's announcements "won't change a thing here", Bendigeri said.

But in fact, Chinese actions are profoundly changing the once neglected and remote region.

Worried about China's build-up on the other side, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government has pumped billions of dollars into ambitious connectivity projects, to boost civilian presence, and establish new paramilitary battalions.

India has scaled up its defences, deploying cruise missiles, howitzers, US-made Chinook transport helicopters and drones.

At the same time, in an indication of New Delhi's constant geopolitical balancing act, India is part of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which includes China and Russia.

As the grouping's current chair, on Friday it hosts a meeting of its foreign ministers in Goa.

But in the face of China's increased assertiveness under leader Xi Jinping it has also become a member of the so-called Quad with the US, Australia and Japan, set up to counter Beijing.

Within days of Beijing's renaming announcement, India's powerful interior minister Amit Shah launched a $585 million "vibrant villages" scheme for civilians along the border.

"India wants peace with everyone," said Shah at Kibithoo, one of the first Arunachal Pradesh villages overrun in 1962.

"But no one will be able to encroach on even an inch of our country's land".

New Delhi has expressed alarm over its neighbour's push to develop "xiaokang" — meaning well-to-do villages in Mandarin — along the Line of Actual Control.

Bendigeri fears they will be "dual-use ghost villages", intended to alter realities on the ground.

He also worries the People's Liberation Army could use them during a conflict, echoing the way Beijing has built militarised artificial islands in the disputed South China Sea.

But India's capacity to respond is constrained by the fact its military budget is, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, little more than a quarter of China's.

And New Delhi can only persuade civilians to stay in the areas, rather than compel them.

Modi's government said last year it had sanctioned 35 infrastructure schemes and 2,319 kilometres of roads in the state.

Souvenir vendor Tenzin Dorjey, 35, says more tourists are coming to his shop in Tawang, but it is still 12 hours from the nearest airport.

"If the roads improve, everything improves for us and the people who want to come here," he said.
The showpiece project is a tunnel under the Sela pass which Colonel Ravikant Tiwari of the Border Roads Organisation said will be the world's longest tunnel at an altitude of 4,000 metres.

It will provide "all-weather connectivity" and "boost strategic defence infrastructure" where snowstorms regularly cut the existing road every winter, he said, as an army of workers laboured in freezing conditions.

Zemithang is where the Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama entered India when he fled into exile in 1959.

The location of his crossing has become a pilgrimage site for his followers, who pass India's last army post and cross a rickety old bridge over a raging river to pray at a "holy tree" he reportedly planted at the time.

A large Chinese military camp is visible on a slope about a kilometre ahead.

Residents used to have "close ties with people from Tibet but things changed after 1962", said local Sangey Tsetan, 61.

"We remember. We are not the same. We are Buddhists and they're Communists."
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Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by Vips »

Since we do not have a separate thread for Ropeways posting it here.

Gaurikund via ropeway! 9.7 km journey to be covered in 28 minutes.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government is working to develop ropeway projects across the country. The projects under “Parvatmala Pariyojana” will boost the connectivity of the hilly areas with the plains. It will also boost the tourism of the region.

The government has planned to develop more than 250 projects with a Ropeway length of over 1,200-km in five years under this scheme. In this context, the ropeway project between Gaurikund and Kedarnath deserves special mention.

Gaurikund-Kedarnath ropeway project:-
The Gaurikund-Kedarnath project will be developed as one of the longest ropeways in the world. The 9.7 km long ropeway project will connect Uttarakhand‘s Gaurikund to Kedarnath Dham in Rudraprayag district. On completion, this ropeway project will reduce the travel time between the two places to 28 minutes. Presently, it takes around 6-7 hrs to complete the journey between the two places.

The ropeway will be built at an altitude of 3,583 m above sea level. The technology of Tri-cable Detachable Gondola (3S) will be used to connect Gaurikund with Kedarnath Dham. A total of 3,600 passengers can travel in an hour per direction.

Significance of Gaurikund to Kedarnath ropeway projects:-
The ropeway is an environmentally friendly mode of transport that will provide a safe, secure, and stable mode of transport. This major infrastructure development will give a boost to religious tourism. This will also give a fillip to the economic development in the region. The project will also lead to creation of multiple employment opportunities as well.

Image

Few other ropeway projects in India to be develop:-
Varanasi Cantt. to Godowalia Chowk
Govind Ghat – Ghangaria – Hemkund Sahib
Railway Station to Mahakaleshwar Temple, Ujjain
Phool Bagh Square to Gwalior Fort
Nature’s Park (Mohal) to Bijli Mahadev Temple, Kullu
Ransoo Bus Stand to Shivkhori Cave
Dhosi Hill, Narnaul

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has mandated National Highways Logistics Management Limited (NHLML), 100% owned SPV of NHAI, for implementation of ropeways in the country.
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Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by Cyrano »

Ropeways are expensive, failure prone therefore high maintenance business. Spectacular loss of life risk and erosion of confidence and a huge volume requirement to make profits means this a bit like airlines.

To make it function long-term, stringent norms must be applied consistently and govt subsidies will be needed.

On the upside, when everything works well, it's a great boost for tourism and local economy.
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Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by vsunder »

I wish they did not construct this ropeway from Govindghat to Ghangharia. Its a 23km hike and one of the many things I have done in my life which is extremely beautiful. Swift flowing streams and there is even wild marijuana growing by the side at places hehehehe. Ghangharia is the gateway to the Valley of the Flowers and that place does not need many, many tourists. The tourists who go there are just louts and throw stuff. Most hire coolies to carry them in litters from Ghangharia to the Valley of Flowers or Ghangharia to Hemkund. To go to Hem Kund is also a steep hike and you cross a glacier. Even beyond is the remote Mana Pass and to go beyond that to Satopant glacier and Swargarohini( that is the peak from where Yuddhistira rose to heaven with the black dog) one needs an inner line permit. The last I have done this is when I was 63+ and took my children upto these places. They still tell me that the scent of the flowers in the Valley of the Flowers is something they will never forget. The Pushpaganga and Lakshmanganga and the Alaknanda has to be enjoyed at eye level and crossed over those rickety bridges. The pictures I have of the Valley are absolutely spectacular. I carried Frank Smythe's book into the valley and some pages have flowers crushed between and still smell heavenly.

I am a bit ambivalent of Gaurikund to Kedarnath, as I hiked all the way. I understand there are elderly people on pilgrimage who will want to take the ropeway instead of availing of the helicopter service. But Valley of flowers will not withstand boatloads of tourists coming by ropeway. There is no room there and what I have seen is the total disregard people have of what they have there, blue poppies found nowhere in the world and so many flowers that change every week in the blooming season. There are mules to take you 23km but hah who does mules, we even carried our kit on our backs. Solvutir Ambulando!!

There were a number of acclimatization hikes we took. One from Sari village to Tungnath which is really the highest Shiva temple in the world. You can see Nanda Devi and many other peaks from Tungnath. Then we did the hike to Deoria Tal where the snow covered peaks of the Chaukhambha massif reflect in Deoria Tal. At Deoria Tal is where Yuddhisthira was questioned by the heron Baka prasna and there is a small shrine there marking the spot. It was a beautiful clear day and I fell asleep and a black bhotiya Himalayan mastiff became my friend after I fed it cookies and watched over me while I slept. The Himalayan mastiff looks very intelligent and guards sheep. They can be seen in Autumn as the shepherds bring down their flock from high elevations and the dogs herd them. All the dogs are fitted with a tin collar that completely covers their neck as leopards usually try to get them by the neck. The dogs though and two of them for sure are more than a match for any leopard. So have a guy guarding you when you fall asleep in the open in those parts. Biscyuits and cookies are a nice way to make friends no?

My wife and children went around the Tal enjoying the rhododendrons that grow to spectacular heights in the Himalayas. The Chaukhambha massif was climbed by a Italian-Swiss expedition in 1950 I think for the first time.

I use the best hiking boots Vasque, used by Seal Team 6 on that raid to get Bin Laden. It has done 100km+ of Himalayan hikes all at altitude and numerous others. Trusty boots.
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Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by vsunder »

Kanpur Ring Road and Lucknow to Kanpur Expressway

Packages 1 &4 of the 5 package 93km 6 laned Ring Road around Kanpur have been awarded. These two packages are from Northwest of Kanpur to Southeast of Kanpur. Construction begins next month June 2023. Limited access ring road with toll and top speed of 120kmph. There will be two new bridges across the Ganga, northeast and northwest of Kanpur in the remaining packages to carry the ring road. The 72km Lucknow to Kanpur Expressway being built by PNC Infratech who won both packages and achieved financial closure October 2022 will cut this Ring road in Unnao district northeast of Kanpur.

The Expressway will cost INR 4700 crores and the deadline is Dec 2025, though the hope is it will be built by June 2025. 6 lanes expandable to 8 lanes. Part of the Expressway is a greenfield alignment beginning at Shaheed Path in Lucknow, cutting Kanpur ring road and ending at Azad Chauraha near the current Ganga bridge at Kanpur.

There will be an exit/entry ramp to the new Kanpur airport from the ring road. New Kanpur airport inauguration is May 26th with ILS-Cat II facility and many new destinations since 3 aircraft can be parked, 8 check in counters as opposed to 1 before and night landing facility, so many new airlines have evinced interest to operate out from Kanpur as it is also a UP Defence Corridor Node and Ambani is setting up a very big ammunition factory on land earmarked for the Defence corridor in Kanpur. So traffic will increase and Genser wants to build aircraft in Kanpur.
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Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by Cyrano »

vsunder garu,
Agree with you. Have trekked in western ghats, but never got close to the Himalayas. Have a long list of places and hikes. Have been using various models of Asolo boots over the years which have been excellent. Currently Asolo GTX Fugitive, just superb.
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Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by vsunder »

Any day now Sela Tunnel to Tawang should become operational. June was the month for completion of the tunnels for all weather connectivity to Tawang.

Meanwhile 5 tunnels on the Chandigarh to Manali road have been thrown open for trials( as per tweet of Shri Nitin Gadkari). These are between Ot and Pandoh and 5 more are being constructed. They have strategic value because of the road to Leh and also value for tourism. This is part of 4 laning the Chandigarh to Manali road.

https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/c ... 01308.html
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Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by VinodTK »

^^^


Crossing The Sela Heights: The Roads To Tawang, Much Light At The End Of Game-changing Tunnels
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Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by saip »

Why does not the government make wearing seat belts compulsory for ALL passengers and educate people about wearing seat belts? I know most often only the driver is REQUIRED to wear and then again he puts it on hastily only when he sees a cop on the road. When I hire a car (OLA) I insist on wearing seat belts even though I am in the back seat. I always have to argue with the driver to FIND the seatbelt as they always insist it is NOT necessary for those in the back seat. The belts are normally hidden/pushed into the seat.
Why the rant? Yesterday our friend died in a car accident and he was not wearing seatbelts. His driver wearing seatbelts survived with minor injuries. His wife is in the ICU with head injuries. She too was not wearing. The driver swerved to avoid hitting a cow/buffalo which strayed onto the highway. He hit the divider. I wish he did not and hit the damn buffalo. Why are these animals on the road? If all the persons were wearing the belts, I am sure they would have survived with minor injuries. I am always puzzled even educated people do not wear seatbelts. Both the wife and husband are physicians.
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Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by Vayutuvan »

saip wrote:Why ...? I know ... When I hire a car (OLA) I insist ...
Why the rant? Why ... road? If all the persons were wearing the belts, I am sure they would have survived with minor injuries. I am always puzzled...
I am sorry for your loss but "Why can't they drive Teslas, hain?"
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Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by vsunder »

Sela Tunnel and all weather Road to Tawang is now complete. As I said ^^^ June was given as the completion month. I suppose they will wait for a good time that is not Rahu Kalam or Gulige Kalam to have a mantriji open the Tunnel.

https://arunachalobserver.org/2023/06/0 ... -tells-cm/

The tunnel was to open in February, but they had issues with the humidity inside the tunnel that delayed the lining work and approach roads also had to be laid. This caused an additional delay.
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Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by sanman »

vsunder wrote:Sela Tunnel and all weather Road to Tawang is now complete. As I said ^^^ June was given as the completion month. I suppose they will wait for a good time that is not Rahu Kalam or Gulige Kalam to have a mantriji open the Tunnel.

https://arunachalobserver.org/2023/06/0 ... -tells-cm/

The tunnel was to open in February, but they had issues with the humidity inside the tunnel that delayed the lining work and approach roads also had to be laid. This caused an additional delay.
This Sela tunnel will be good in peacetime, however I'd imagine that in the event of a full-blown war, China could shut it down with some precision bombardment.
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Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by ramana »

Happy Birthday Xi Jinping!!!
Incidentally it's next week
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Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by Prem Kumar »

sanman wrote:
This Sela tunnel will be good in peacetime, however I'd imagine that in the event of a full-blown war, China could shut it down with some precision bombardment.
This is true of all infra - they are at risk of enemy targeting during wartime. IAF will not let them ingress this deep and bomb with impunity

That being said, it will make sense for our air-defense assets like Akash, QRSAM, Jammers etc to be deployed to protect key infra assets. Raise the cost for the attacker.
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Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by vsunder »

My short write up on the Sela Tunnel
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

ALL WEATHER CONNECTIVITY TO TAWANG ESTABLISHED

Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh was the scene of bitter fighting during the Sino Indian conflict of 1962. The Indian Army was hampered by poor roads and had to transport materiel by using pack animals like mules. Part of the road traverses the high Sela pass at 13,800 feet that is snow bound most of the year. Tawang then is cut-off from India. Even during the working season the road is bad with switchbacks and hairpin bends, accident prone and it takes forever more than a day to reach Tawang from say Army HQ at Tezpur. Tezpur is HQ of IV Corps.

The Modi government to initiate better connectivity sanctioned the construction of two tunnels below the snow line at 9800 feet, approach roads to these tunnels and guaranteed all weather connectivity to Tawang. This will help the civilian population in Tawang the site of a very famous Buddhist Tibetan monastery and an important Army command. Tawang is of special significance to Tibetan Buddhism as the 6th Dalai Lama was born there.

The tunnel project commenced in 2019 but was delayed by Covid. It is now completed a few days ago and awaits formal inauguration. The tunnel allows 8000 civilian cars to pass through the tunnels every day while 4000 Army trucks and if needed armor heavy tanks and artillery can easily pass through the twin tunnels. One of the tunnels is very long and so is equipped with an escape tunnel as per protocol that requires an escape tunnel for tunnels over 1 km long. The tunnels are equipped with advanced SCADA systems, lighting and fire fighting equipment and CCTV cameras.
There is an appropriate ventilation system.

The first tunnel, 475 metres (1,558 ft) long, cuts through a longitudinal ridge entering it at 27.4994°N 92.0938°E. After emerging, a second tunnel, 1,790 metres (5,870 ft) long, runs through the main Sela–Chabrela ridge at 27.5073°N 92.0827°E. The two tunnels together bypass the Sela Pass and maintain an elevation of 3000 m.
The strategic tunnels were constructed by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) under Project Vartak. It will enhance Indian military's capabilities in combating the threat of China's Western Theater Command opposite India's eastern sector of Line of Actual Control. It will cut the travel time from the Indian Army's IV Corps headquarter at Tezpur to Tawang by at least 10 km or 1 hour and also help make the NH13 an all-weather road to access Tawang which usually gets disconnected during winter. The tunnels would ensure that the 171 km road between Bomdila and Tawang remains accessible in all weather conditions.
The BRO is also improving the road from Sangestar Tso (north of Tawang) to Bum La Pass on India-China Line of Actual Control (disputed parts of McMahon Line). NH13 has been converted to a 2-lane road.

https://arunachalobserver.org/.../sela- ... mplete.../


Here is an informative video about the Sela tunnels:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0K812N5spT0

The humidity inside the tunnels hampered the tunnel lining works, and this further delayed the opening from February to June 2023.
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Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by vsunder »

I think proper attention is not being paid to the Infra changes which are massive that are taking place in India and too much attention and energy wasted on other issues. Railways, ports and roads and airports are coming up on a very large scale. Connectivity to Northeast, along the LAC, LOC and along the IB, plus upgradations in various other aspects hardly find any mention on this forum. So talking about other projects besides Mumbai-Delhi expressway. Here is one under Bharatmala Pariyojana

Amritsar--Bathinda---Barmer---Jamnagar Expressway

I want to just focus on the Bathinda to Jamnagar 917km expressway(1224 km to Amritsar) a large portion of which is greenfield. It connects three refineries at Bathinda, the new one at Barmer and Mota chacha's Jamnagar refinery. The expressway has also been tested by the IAF for landing C 130s and Mirages and it runs parallel to the border. 26 hours travel time will be cut to 13 hours and project will be complete in 2025.

What is this expressway a good summary with maps:

https://themetrorailguy.com/nhai-amrits ... ap-status/

Bathinda is also a HQ for a Strike Corps of IA.

https://www.indiatvnews.com/news/india/ ... -23-872130

https://indianexpress.com/article/citie ... t-8621818/


Missing Link Project Pune---Mumbai expressway

This is a project to completely eliminate the Khandala Ghat in the Mumbai to Pune Expressway. Khandala Ghat section is the scene of many, many accidents that takes the lives of motorists due to switchbacks/hairpin bends and numerous rockslides during monsoons. The Missing Link project will simply make a straight alignment of the Mumbai to Pune Expressway. It will also cut travel time by 25mins between the two cities. There will be two tunnels one of them 8.9km long Maharashtra's longest that will be 150m below Lonavala Lake. There will be a cable stayed bridge spanning a broad viaduct. The second smaller tunnel/s is through. The 8.9km tunnel is under process. 65% of thethe entire project work is complete and a 2025 date has been set for opening. The tunnels are the widest in Asia to carry 6 lanes of traffic.
The tunnel under Lonavala lake is being excavated by controlled blasting.

What is the Missing Link project, and what has been achieved?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMFetBuNoPE

Bangalore to Chennai Expressway

Summary of the project and details/status

https://themetrorailguy.com/nhai-bangal ... ap-status/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-yCOveV87g

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXuF50ik0-E

This being Southern states with all sorts of agendas, LA is definitely going to delay this project through KA, TN and AP.


Raipur to Vizag Expressway

What is this Expressway and why is it important ?

https://themetrorailguy.com/nhai-raipur ... ap-status/

Videos of construction:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYZixOLy6Y0
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Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by Prasad »

I don't see any hurdles for Blr-Chn highway at all. All these states want it. In fact TN wants HSR also along with it. TN wholeheartedly wanted extension of blr metro all the way to hosur and agreed to fund TN side of the metro line. Even the greenfield highway to salem might get an ok after renaming it suitably by the current govt. There are talks of reopening the thoothukudi copper plant too :rotfl:
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Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by vsunder »

The new KA Govt. has put many infra projects on hold. That involves cooperation with LA. ^^^

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/cit ... 432577.cms

Secondly The Bangalore to Chennai Expressway will be 4 laned as opposed to 6 and 8 lane expressways elsewhere. True, parts of Bangalore to Chennai Expressway will be expandable to 8 lanes in the future. Ask yourself why this happened?? Those 4 lanes will soon be overwhelmed with traffic. Google all this lafda.

I also do not like that the expressway is being constructed using Bitumen. For this Gadkari has explained that the cement manufacturers formed a cartel and starting price gouging and so did steel suppliers. Gadkari has a made a speech about it and openly said in this speech on youtube in Hindi " I gave oxygen to the cement industry and took 40% of their production. They turned around and formed a cartel. So I dropped instructions that Expressways should be laid in concrete. Instead I am looking at practices in US and other countries where steel can be replaced by other materials". This is the reason that Mumbai Delhi expressway is laid with bitumen in Rajasthan etc where the rainfall is less, but PQC(Concrete) for most of the Vadodara to Virar section in MH and on to JNPT in the Virar to JNPT section(where rainfall is excessive) where work progress has been miniscule.

Rs 186 bag of cement is now Rs 386. The interviewer is an idiot.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=He2gkWoPnC8
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Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by Vips »

India's road network grew 59% in 9 years, now second largest in the world after US.
India's road network grew 59 per cent in the last 9 years to become the second largest in the world after US, Union minister Nitin Gadkari said on Tuesday.

Gadkari said that the country's road infrastructure now stands at 1,45,240 km compared to 91,287 km in 2013-14.

Earlier, China used to have the second largest road network in the world.The road, transport and highways minister was addressing a conference on '9 years achievements of government' in the national capital.

He said that India has made as many as seven world records in the sector over the last 9 years. "India's road network is the second largest in the world after the US," he said.

The minister further said that the revenues from tolls rose to Rs 41,342 crore from Rs 4,770 crore in 2013-14. The government aims to increase the toll revenue to Rs 1,30,000 crore by 2030, Gadkari said.

The usage of fastags has helped in reducing the waiting time at the toll plazas to 47 seconds. The government is taking various measures to reduce it further to below 30 seconds, he noted.
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Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by Cyrano »

Good! Hope we also become No 2 in road safety in terms of reduced % of accidents and fatalities as well.

Our lighting, signage and safety features and checks for DIU etc remain huge areas of improvement, a lot of it at state level.
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Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by Mollick.R »

X-post from Railways Thread.......

Assam's first underwater tunnel to be constructed between Numaligarh and Gohpur at a cost of Rs 6,000 crore
By Bikash Singh, ET Bureau Last Updated: Jun 24, 2023, 09:38 PM IST

Assam's first underwatertunnel to be constructed between Numaligarh and Gohpur at a cost of Rs 6,000 crore. Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that tenders for DPR preparation will open next month. “I had a thought that there are several bridges over the river, can we have a tunnel under water. We know about Atal tunnel of Jammu and Kashmir amidst the mountains. I was thinking can we have a tunnel under the river Brahmaputra where railways can move and vehicles to can move.”

He added, “I felt probably this thought might be a dream and left it. One day in Delhi I was told that we can have tunnel under river Brahmaputra. Where it will come up, discussions took place. How much money will be required Rs
6000 Crore?” Sarma said,Where it will come up, discussions took place. How much money will be required Rs 6000 Crore?”


Sarma said, “We decided it will come between Numaligarh and Gohpur where both rails and vehicles will move. The tender for DPR will open on July 4. God willing during my tenure as the chief minister we will be able to start the work of the tunnel. Prime minister Narendra Modi has cleared the project. The two banks of Brahmaputra North and south will come closer.”


https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/ne ... s?from=mdr
Mollick.R
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Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by Mollick.R »

X-post from Railways Thread........

Assam’s First Underwater Tunnel To Come Up Under Brahmaputra Soon | Read Full Plan Here
Updated: June 24, 2023 5:52 PM IST
The plan of the underwater tunnel calls for the construction of three parallel tunnels- one for road traffic, one for rail traffic, and another for emergency purposes.
With the Jamurihat-Silghat network, the strategic multi-modal transportation system will integrate the rail and highway networks towards North Assam, Tawang, and the rest of Arunachal Pradesh, a report by TOI said.
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Notably, the underwater tunnel will take off from about 9 km upstream of the existing Kaliabhomora (Tezpur) road bridge, and it will connect Jakhlabandha railway station on the south bank and Dhaliabil railway station on the northern bank of Brahmaputra, as per the Sawarajya report.

Interestingly, the underwater tunnel project will benefit the country as a whole and Northeast strategically by reducing travel time between Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.

https://www.india.com/news/india/assams ... e-6130533/
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Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by VipinM »

Recently i had a chance to drive up to Dausa (enroute to Jaipur) on Delhi- Mumbai expressway and i must say it was the best driving experience in India.
The highway is smooth with hardly any bumpy ride. Roadside amenities are still Work in Progress and traffic is still very light.

Once the entire expressway is complete, i expect a good volume of traffic.
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Post by CalvinH »

I am looking forward to driving between Mumbai and Delhi on regular basis on the expressway.

But how did it pass through Dausa. Is Dausa on the expressway? That wont make any sense from the alignment perspective.

I have travelled on Agra-Dausa road in late 90s and I remember it as the worst highway I have ever seen. With large number of good sized potholes dotting full highway all the way to Dausa. A year later Rajesh Pilot died when he met the accident in that road while driving towards Jaipur.
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Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by rahulm »

School Bus Collides With SUV On Delhi-Meerut Expressway, 6 Killed

Bus driver merrily driving on the wrong side.

Gadkari can build all the expressways. What to do about the monkeys who flout rules, drive on these and kill people? Breaking rules generally and driving on the wrong side is normalised - nobody sees anything wrong with it and NHAI does not care about enforcement. At the speeds on these expressways, flouting rules is brutally fatal and tragically avoidable.

I self drove the "acclaimed and anticipated" Mumbai Nagpur expressway from Nagpur to Pulgaon exit in both direction 4 months ago, While, the expressway is technically good, in its current use format it is a disaster with fatal accidents having already occurred and am sure more will happen.

It's tom tommed as access controlled, but the bhains and gaiyaas aka cattle are to be found randomly on the expressway. These have already killed a few people. Culpabale homicide but no one is accountable.

The shoulders are used as rest stops by trucks with the spaces under over bridges the most sought after for the protection from rain and sun they offer.

Exits are also used as parking lots with lines of trucks parked on the off ramps.

For some reason the NHAI is unable, unwilling or both to enforce some discipline and order on the expressways. In the meanwhile, people die.
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Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by vijayk »

^^ we need an enforcement division on highways?
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Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by rajkumar »

vijayk wrote: 11 Jul 2023 20:03 ^^ we need an enforcement division on highways?
The solution is to have 'Indian Highways Police' along the same lines as Railway Protection Force rather than reply on the State Police Forces to monitor & control the Highways.
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Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by vera_k »

Wrong way collisions are not unheard of for access controlled roads. They happen in case the entrance/exits are confusing for drivers or if the driver is drunk or distracted.

While leapfrogging to autonomous vehicles is not possible, it will be possible to have equipment in the car tied to Navic/GPS to warn the driver if entering wrong way.
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Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by chetak »

people are confused negotiating traffic lights in metros

guys on the extreme left lane will insist on turning right (and vice versa) when the lights turn green

these guys will learn, only if the stick is applied harshly and regularly

they have massively jacked up the traffic fines which only serves to give the vulture cops more income


Image
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Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by CalvinH »

This is indeed commendable but I think the credit goes to the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) and not Gadkari. Most of the roads will be single lane roads providing connectivity to small villages. Percentage of access controlled roads in overall number is very small for India compared to US or China.
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Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by nachiket »

rahulm wrote: 11 Jul 2023 17:56 I self drove the "acclaimed and anticipated" Mumbai Nagpur expressway from Nagpur to Pulgaon exit in both direction 4 months ago, While, the expressway is technically good, in its current use format it is a disaster with fatal accidents having already occurred and am sure more will happen.

It's tom tommed as access controlled, but the bhains and gaiyaas aka cattle are to be found randomly on the expressway. These have already killed a few people. Culpabale homicide but no one is accountable.

The shoulders are used as rest stops by trucks with the spaces under over bridges the most sought after for the protection from rain and sun they offer.

Exits are also used as parking lots with lines of trucks parked on the off ramps.

For some reason the NHAI is unable, unwilling or both to enforce some discipline and order on the expressways. In the meanwhile, people die.
Sir I understand your point but NHAI has nothing whatsoever to do with the Mumbai-Nagpur expressway. It is a MH state government project and is maintained by MSRDC.

Furthermore, calling the road itself a disaster is ridiculous. The roads which this and similar expressways replace were mostly two-lane "highways" where you have to cross into oncoming traffic to overtake. Even without enough enforcement this is infinitely better than that. Yes, enforcement of traffic rules is necessary to reduce accidents but understand that these accidents aren't new. They were happening on the old smaller roads as well. They are just a lot more publicized thanks to the high profile nature of some of these highways. And more than anything it is a mirror on our society itself and the pathetically poor quality of drivers in India. That doesn't mean we should stop building better highways though.
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Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by Pratyush »

The problem is pathetic attitude of drivers.

For so long they have been used to single lane highway. With speeds limited to 20 to 40 kph. That habits developed for those carry on to express ways. With disastrous consequences.

Don't blame signages and signals on express way as well. Because people don't know how to read them. Nor do they bother to learn how to read those signs.

The ridiculous matter relating to tires on the smraddhi rajmarg is a crying shame. People are driving on expressway with worn-out and damaged tires. Which burst due to high speeds causing fatalities.

The solution is not to blame highways. It is to learn how to drive properly. With a fully functional automobile.

Cars have brakes. But drivers use horns instead of breaks.
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Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by rahulm »

Pratyush wrote: 13 Jul 2023 10:15 The problem is pathetic attitude of drivers.

For so long they have been used to single lane highway. With speeds limited to 20 to 40 kph. That habits developed for those carry on to express ways. With disastrous consequences.

Don't blame signages and signals on express way as well. Because people don't know how to read them. Nor do they bother to learn how to read those signs.

The ridiculous matter relating to tires on the smraddhi rajmarg is a crying shame. People are driving on expressway with worn-out and damaged tires. Which burst due to high speeds causing fatalities.

The solution is not to blame highways. It is to learn how to drive properly. With a fully functional automobile.

Cars have brakes. But drivers use horns instead of breaks.
This involves a complete overhaul nay revolution in our licensing assessment, award and enforcement system. Well, this is a state subject and cows will come home, breed many generations and even after, I see no hope of this happening. People dont care and neither do politicians. It's on no ones radar and does not impact electoral outcomes. Just innocent people die for avoidable reasons. I wrote to Gadkari - no acknowledgment and certainly no action. One could argue it's not his remit then whose is it on NHAI roads?

The Mumbai Pune Expressway now has so many "cuts" in the barriers its turning into a merry village road with people turning those "cut" locations into bus stops and 2 wheelers (these are actually prohibited) entering and exiting thru the "cuts" to move from village to village. Waiting for the inevitable and logical progression to happen - vada pal and chai stalls and then a puncher shop. The organic transformation of the express way into a Yeshwantrao Chavan Panchayat Mahamarg will then be complete.
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Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by VipinM »

CalvinH wrote: 08 Jul 2023 04:20 I am looking forward to driving between Mumbai and Delhi on regular basis on the expressway.

But how did it pass through Dausa. Is Dausa on the expressway? That wont make any sense from the alignment perspective.

I have travelled on Agra-Dausa road in late 90s and I remember it as the worst highway I have ever seen. With large number of good sized potholes dotting full highway all the way to Dausa. A year later Rajesh Pilot died when he met the accident in that road while driving towards Jaipur.
Yes Dausa Falls on the expressway and there is an exit towards Jaipur just after Dausa.

Dausa- Agra NH has also improved a lot. You can easily reach 90KMPH if not taking into account the local traffic here and there.

My holiday experience and driving in North India has been exemplary thus far. Even non descript regions like Chakrata - Mussoorie 2 StateNational highway is excellent except for few broken stretches here and there
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