Indian Roads Thread

The Technology & Economic Forum is a venue to discuss issues pertaining to Technological and Economic developments in India. We request members to kindly stay within the mandate of this forum and keep their exchanges of views, on a civilised level, however vehemently any disagreement may be felt. All feedback regarding forum usage may be sent to the moderators using the Feedback Form or by clicking the Report Post Icon in any objectionable post for proper action. Please note that the views expressed by the Members and Moderators on these discussion boards are that of the individuals only and do not reflect the official policy or view of the Bharat-Rakshak.com Website. Copyright Violation is strictly prohibited and may result in revocation of your posting rights - please read the FAQ for full details. Users must also abide by the Forum Guidelines at all times.
Suraj
Forum Moderator
Posts: 15043
Joined: 20 Jan 2002 12:31

Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by Suraj »

Thanks for posting that article, disha. A very interesting read indeed. UP will far outstrip any other state including TN when it comes to expressway construction at this rate.
nachiket
Forum Moderator
Posts: 9097
Joined: 02 Dec 2008 10:49

Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by nachiket »

Suraj wrote:Thanks for posting that article, disha. A very interesting read indeed. UP will far outstrip any other state including TN when it comes to expressway construction at this rate.
It is disappointing that other governments have not followed UP in creating/empowering an authority analogous to UPEIDA to boost highway development in their own states. They seem to have abandoned that responsibility to the center.
darshan
BRF Oldie
Posts: 4018
Joined: 28 Jan 2008 04:16

Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by darshan »

Gadkari Introduces Tracking System In NHAI To Eradicate Red Tape, Identify Officials Responsible For Delays
https://swarajyamag.com/insta/gadkari-i ... for-delays
Union Minister Nitin Gadkari has announced that the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) will introduce software to especially track files and to identify officials responsible for delays clearing files, ET Auto reports.
...
“Red-tapism will no longer be tolerated...Delayed decision-making results in losses. To eradicate red-tapism, we will be bringing a software that will specifically detect how much time one particular official has taken in disposing of any file,” Gadkari was quoted in the report.
....
Gadkari added, “As one of the biggest reforms, the NHAI has gone 'fully digital', with the launch of unique cloud-based and artificial intelligence-powered big data analytics platform - Data Lake and Project Management Software.” He mentioned that the anticipated introduction of the project management consultancy will provide amenities, forest environment clearance, land acquisition, construction, designing, road safety and other aspects of any project.
...
darshan
BRF Oldie
Posts: 4018
Joined: 28 Jan 2008 04:16

Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by darshan »

Record construction of 534 kilometres of National Highway in one week
https://www.deshgujarat.com/2021/01/17/ ... -one-week/
New Delhi: The Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH) said it has created a record by constructing 534 km of National Highways (NHs) in the last week commencing 8 January.

The Ministry said it has constructed 8,169 km of National Highways (NHs) from April 2020 to 15 January 2021 in the current financial year 2020-21, i.e. with a speed of about 28.16 km per day. During the same period in the last fiscal, 7,573 km roads were constructed, with a speed of 26.11 km per day.

The Ministry said it is hopeful that with such pace it should be able to cross construction target of 11,000 km by 31 March.

The Ministry also awarded NH projects of 7,597 km during this period (April 2020 to 15 January 2021). In 2019-20, projects of 3,474 km were awarded during the same period. Thus, the pace of award has also more than doubled this fiscal.

In total, projects of 8,948 km of roads were awarded in 2019-20 while 10,237 km of roads were constructed.
...
Cyrano
BRF Oldie
Posts: 5461
Joined: 28 Mar 2020 01:07

Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by Cyrano »

More I see Gadkari speak and act, my respect grows for him. Another true gem in NaMo's team.
vijayk
BRF Oldie
Posts: 8760
Joined: 22 Jun 1999 11:31

Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by vijayk »

Is there any site about highway and rural roads 2014 vs 2019?
vsunder
BRFite
Posts: 1353
Joined: 06 Sep 1999 11:31
Location: Ulan Bator, Mongolia

Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by vsunder »

65% of the strategic Z-Morh( Z-bend) tunnel is excavated and the escape tunnel will be done by March. This is a strategic tunnel connecting Kargil and Srinagar. Coupled with the under construction tunnel at Zoji La, it will provide all weather connectivity between Srinagar and Leh and obviate the need of an overnight halt at Kargil to travel to Leh from Srinagar.

Se La tunnel to Tawang is also progressing well with work also starting at the South portal, till now the excavation was at the North portal.

https://www.outlookindia.com/newsscroll ... ay/2011252


CM Pema Khandu in front of the North portal in September 2020

https://www.northeasttoday.in/2020/09/0 ... ma-khandu/

The original company abandoned the Z-Morh tunnel, had to be re-tendered and re-started.
vsunder
BRFite
Posts: 1353
Joined: 06 Sep 1999 11:31
Location: Ulan Bator, Mongolia

Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by vsunder »

Two Bridges across the Yamuna

The first bridge is under construction on one of Yogi Adityanath's flagship projects, Bundelkhand Expressway and Defence Corridor, linking Chitrakoot Dham, a pilgrimage spot in Eastern UP, through Mahoba, Jhansi and the badlands where dacoity flourished and will join the Lucknow-Agra expressway near Etawah. Bridge seems to be constructed using a coffer dam and perhaps spans will be launched by lifting completed spans into place. LA for this project was done in record time and along with Purvanchal Expressway and Gorakhpur link expressway forms a flagship project. Purvanchal expressway has been extended from Ghazipur its original terminus to Ballia on the UP-Bihar border where it will connect with a 4 lane road to Patna and so benefit better connectivity for Bihar with NCR/Delhi

https://twitter.com/811GK/status/1353733696956764162

The second bridge is the completed railway bridge across Yamuna at Kalpi about 50km from Kanpur on the Kanpur--Jhansi rail line an extremely congested single line carrying traffic to Mumbai and South India from the North and the scene of a fatal derailment at Pukhrayan about 10 km from Kalpi. The second bridge will in the future replace the current railway bridge built by the now defunct Indian Midlands Railway Company in 1883 and the new bridge is part of the ongoing Kanpur-Jhansi doubling works. Approaches to the completed new bridge are not ready on the Kalpi side though approach is ready from the Kanpur side. Doubling works Kanpur to Jhansi are going on in full swing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbDkyIqa2yA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6-WLkFEezA

The railway bridge was constructed by sinking caissons and building piers and launching spans via cantilever method and launchers a slow process.
Suraj
Forum Moderator
Posts: 15043
Joined: 20 Jan 2002 12:31

Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by Suraj »

From Nitin Gadkari's Youtube site, a summary of the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway. 8 lanes, 1350km, 90,000cr, estimated readiness Jan 2023.

Currently this stretch takes 24 hours. The expressway will cut it in half to 12.

This expressway alone accounts for over 1% of India's annual cement consumption.

This is one more of the economic multipliers, along with the DFCs - it approximately throughput and halves time, which has a 5-6x economic velocity impact.
Vayutuvan
BRF Oldie
Posts: 12060
Joined: 20 Jun 2011 04:36

Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by Vayutuvan »

Once DME is done, we would be able to build others quickly due to the experience gained in this project. Indian Highway infrastructure can come close to US one in a decade if projects are implemented in parallel.
Vips
BRF Oldie
Posts: 4699
Joined: 14 Apr 2017 18:23

Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by Vips »

Patel Infrastructure sets a world record to lays record concrete in a day on Delhi-Mumbai Expressway.

With contractors laying good quality concrete for the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) at record speeds, the Road Ministry hopes to cross its construction target of 11,000 km by March 31.

Patel Infrastructure Limited – which laid 10.32 lane km of pavement quality concrete in one day on the Delhi-Vadodara-Mumbai Expressway project on February 1 – has created a World record. This feat has been recognised by both the India Book of Records and the Golden Book of World Records, according to an official statement.

An NHAI contractor has created a World Record for the laying of pavement quality concrete for a four-lane highway of 2.58 km length within 24 hours, it said.

Starting at 8 am on 1 February, 2021, the contractor finished the job, totalling 2.58 km each in four lanes – which translates to approximately 10.32 lane km by 8 am the next morning.

With a width of 18.75 meters, an area of 48,711 square meters of concrete was laid for the expressway in 24 hours. At 14,613 Cubic Meters, this was also the highest quantity of concrete laid in 24 hours, the statement added.

The record is part of the greenfield Delhi-Vadodara-Mumbai 8-lane expressway project and was carried out by the world’s largest fully automatic ultra-modern concrete paver machine.

The Ministry has constructed 8,169 km of National Highways (NHs) from April 2020 to 15 January 2021 in the current financial year 2020-21 – with a speed of about 28.16 km per day, informed the release. During the same period in the last fiscal, 7,573 km roads were constructed, with a speed of 26.11 km per day, added the release.
Suraj
Forum Moderator
Posts: 15043
Joined: 20 Jan 2002 12:31

Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by Suraj »

Very heartening to see such records . I didn't know such a thing was recorded, but it's great that infrastructure companies are projecting statements of the kind - it shows a drive towards productivity and speed. Such motivation drives innovation in rapid fixed asset construction, including in future building urban works at a rapid pace overnight so that the kind of months/years long traffic snarls are minimized.

Any information on this 'world’s largest fully automatic ultra-modern concrete paver machine' ? Just the kind of stuff we could make in numbers locally.
Vips
BRF Oldie
Posts: 4699
Joined: 14 Apr 2017 18:23

Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by Vips »

Suraj wrote: Any information on this 'world’s largest fully automatic ultra-modern concrete paver machine' ? Just the kind of stuff we could make in numbers locally.
Check this:

WIRTGEN Slipform Paver SP 1600 – the world’s largest paver - comissioned for construction of Vadodara-Kim Expressway.

Image

The world’s largest concrete slipform paver was comissioned at Patel Infrastructure on February 25th, 2020 for the construction of 8-lane Vadodara-Kim Expressway, a part of the Mumbai-New Delhi Expressway. The SP 1600 fully automatic slipform concrete paver has a full paving width of 18.75 mtrs, and the capacity to pave the entire width of 18.75 m at one go. There would be four such pavers working at this site.

At the inauguration of the paver, Ramesh Palagiri, Managing Director & CEO, Wirtgen India, said, “Today is a proud moment for Patel Infrastructure and the WIRTGEN GROUP with the commissioning of the 18.75 m wide single-pass paving with our SP-1600 slipform paver.We are able to exhibit our expertise in not only supplying and commissioning machines, but also in providing total solutions for both concrete and asphalt roads.”

The multipurpose SP 1600 is capable of paving motorways across the full carriageway width, industrial sites, airport runways and taxiways, or other airport areas, in single-layer or dual-layer application. The Slipform paver’s dowel bar and tie bar inserters are distinctive for their high degree of automation. Oscillating beam and super smoother, burlap and texture curing machine ensure a perfect surface finish of the completed concrete slab.
Suraj
Forum Moderator
Posts: 15043
Joined: 20 Jan 2002 12:31

Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by Suraj »

Thanks! Looks like Gadkari's Youtube has become a publicity site now:


This is really spectacular. I hope the pace of construction of this expressway inspires work on other ongoing expressway projects and new ones that are initiated.
arshyam
BRF Oldie
Posts: 4570
Joined: 11 Aug 2016 06:14

Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by arshyam »

My only concern with these record-breaks is the quality. The old BLR-MAS highway via Chittoor got upgraded with concrete (using these pavers only) for a 70km stretch in AP, and the fit and finish is horrible. So much so that folks from east Bangalore still prefer to take the route via Krishnagiri despite it being longer by 40-50km. Even something as basic as the joints between the carriageway and small bridges are not aligned, forcing motorists to slow down for practically every minor bridge. In addition, being concrete and not finished well, raises concerns about tyre health and endurance as well. It's one thing to hit potholes on a macadam surface, but completely a different impact against concrete. Add highway speeds to it, and drivers have a real problem in their hands.

Concrete roads are good from a maintenance POV, but such badly done roads will only add to the existing public perception that concrete roads are not good for tyres.
Aditya_V
BRF Oldie
Posts: 14331
Joined: 05 Apr 2006 16:25

Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by Aditya_V »

I think the other route NH 45- 100km from Chennai to Bengaluru, in the L&T maintained section 3 *2 6 lane highway has a concrete base on which Tar road is built to give it a good foundation, that is what I think is happening above, the concrete is for the base, the Tar will be laid above it.
Suraj
Forum Moderator
Posts: 15043
Joined: 20 Jan 2002 12:31

Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by Suraj »

arshyam wrote:My only concern with these record-breaks is the quality. The old BLR-MAS highway via Chittoor got upgraded with concrete (using these pavers only) for a 70km stretch in AP, and the fit and finish is horrible. So much so that folks from east Bangalore still prefer to take the route via Krishnagiri despite it being longer by 40-50km. Even something as basic as the joints between the carriageway and small bridges are not aligned, forcing motorists to slow down for practically every minor bridge. In addition, being concrete and not finished well, raises concerns about tyre health and endurance as well. It's one thing to hit potholes on a macadam surface, but completely a different impact against concrete. Add highway speeds to it, and drivers have a real problem in their hands.

Concrete roads are good from a maintenance POV, but such badly done roads will only add to the existing public perception that concrete roads are not good for tyres.
New NHAI Policy: Zero-Tolerance Towards Dodgy Contractors, Penalty Up To Rs 10 Crore And Debarment From NHAI Projects
Mollick.R
BRFite
Posts: 1033
Joined: 15 Aug 2016 10:26

Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by Mollick.R »

Road construction touches record 30 km per day: Nitin Gadkari
PTI Last Updated: Feb 04, 2021, 07:58 PM IST

NEW DELHI: Road construction has touched record 30 km per day, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari told the Lok Sabha on Thursday.............. "Today the information which I have received is that our construction record comes to 29.6 km, means 30 km per day...and this is for the first time, the highest record was achieved by NHAI (National Highways Authority of India) in the history of the country," he said.
In five years, the total road construction will match the likes of the US and the European nations. The government envisages building 34,800 km of highways at a cost of about Rs 5.35 lakh crore under the ambitious Bharatmala Pariyojna.
Until now, the contract has been awarded for 13,521 km and detailed project report (DPR) for 16,500 km is in the pipeline. Besides, bids have been invited for 4,800 km.

NHAI, he said, has also made a world record by laying down 12,500 cubic meters of concrete on a stretch of 2.54 km.

To a question about giving exemption to differently-abled persons from paying road tax, the minister said this exemption is an issue of states and 11 states have already extended this exemption. Delhi has not yet given this exemption and "I will request Delhi to give exemption in road tax to disabled people," he added.

Regarding Char Dham project, Gadkari said the ministry has taken up improvement and widening of 825 km (existing 889 km) of NHs on the route. This will provide improved and safer road connectivity from Rishikesh to Janki Chati (Yamunotri), Gangotri, Gaurikund (Kedarnath) and Mana (Badrinath) including Tanakpur to Pithoragarh section of Kailash- Mansarovar route in Uttarakhand at a cost of Rs 12,072 crore under 53 separate projects. The NH from Uttarkashi to Gangotri (94km) passes through the Bhagirathi Eco-Sensitive Zone (BESZ). No work has been sanctioned on this section till date, he said.


https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/in ... content=23
Mollick.R
BRFite
Posts: 1033
Joined: 15 Aug 2016 10:26

Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by Mollick.R »

Transport Ministry to now look after development of ropeway and alternate mobility solutions
By Nishtha Saluja, ET Bureau Last Updated: Feb 04, 2021, 07:06 PM IST

NEW DELHI: The ministry of road transport and highways will, from now on, also look after the development of ropeways and alternate mobility solutions, a government statement said on Thursday.

The move is expected to give a boost to the sector, by setting up a regulatory regime, and facilitating research and new technology to come into this sector.

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/in ... content=23
Vips
BRF Oldie
Posts: 4699
Joined: 14 Apr 2017 18:23

Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by Vips »

FASTags drive toll collections to 1-day record of Rs 102 crores.

The toll fee collections through FASTags across the National Highway network have jumped by 23% in the past four days and the amount touched Rs102 crore on Friday, the highest ever toll collection in the NHAI’s history.

Sources said the total toll collection via FASTags was around Rs 85 crore before the NHAI designated all toll lanes as FASTag lanes. Officials said that while cash transactions have fallen below 10% during this week, another reason for good revenue is plugging of leakages.

“It takes a couple of days to collate all details of cash transactions. We are hopeful of record collection of user fee as now there is no avenue for anyone to under-report the actual toll collection,” said an official. Sources said the government has also stepped up monitoring of toll plazas to see that commuters are not caught in queue even with valid FASTags.
bharathp
BRFite
Posts: 453
Joined: 24 Jul 2017 03:44

Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by bharathp »

Vips wrote:another reason for good revenue is plugging of leakages.

“It takes a couple of days to collate all details of cash transactions. We are hopeful of record collection of user fee as now there is no avenue for anyone to under-report the actual toll collection,” said an official. Sources said the government has also stepped up monitoring of toll plazas to see that commuters are not caught in queue even with valid FASTags.
all these loopholes left by previous govts to allow for corrupt practices and allow thier appointed/anointed zamindars to keep collecting monies.

there maybe a new andolan coming from these folks who lost thier toll-cut earnings
srin
BRF Oldie
Posts: 2508
Joined: 11 Aug 2016 06:13

Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by srin »

They need to mandate Fastag for all state highways and private expressways, beginning with NICE road of Bangalore.
Vips
BRF Oldie
Posts: 4699
Joined: 14 Apr 2017 18:23

Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by Vips »

Months after starting construction, contractor for Zojila in Jammu and Kashmir seeks alternate alignment for tunnel.

Barely months after starting the construction of Zojila tunnel in Jammu and Kashmir, the contractor has sought alternate alignment for the tunnel. It has cited difficulties in the construction on the approved alignment of the tunnel and that the new alignment will reduce the tunnel length by 1.2 km.

Sources said three months back, Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Ltd had sent a letter to the project manager of National Highway and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (NHIDCL) seeking the change in alignment. It said the location of the west portal (mouth of the tunnel) near Baltal area lies in avalanche zone and debris flow.

TOI has learnt that the construction major has mentioned that the burden in the initial length of the tunnel comprises boulders, cobbles, pebbles of different rock types like quartzite, limestone with clay and slip up to a depth of 100 metres. "This will make the tunnelling very difficult and time consuming. The portal layout also criss-crosses the river many times and is aligned under the river for long lengths which is likely to encounter severe problems of heavy seepages in the tunnel," the letter said.

The company has claimed the change in alignment will reduce the tunnel length by 1.2 km and will help avoid criss-crossing of the river and also reduce the length of approach road by nearly 800 metres.

Sources in the NHIDCL said giving in-principle approval for new alignment is not an issue, if it doesn’t increase the cost of the project. "Since the contractor has claimed that the tunnel will be shorter, ideally we should spend less," said an official.

The Hyderabad-based construction company had bagged the project quoting a price of Rs 4,509 crore in August last year. The 14.2 km-long tunnel which will ensure all year connectivity between Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, had been stalled for almost six years due to various reasons.
CalvinH
BRFite
Posts: 1098
Joined: 15 Jul 2007 04:14

Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by CalvinH »

Another record
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) recently completed a four-laning of the Solapur-Bijapur state highway, completing a 25.54 km single lane road in just 18 hours.
https://www.newsbharati.com/Encyc/2021/ ... truct.html

India is catching up on Infra development. Stats like this shows that we have entire chain in place from sub-systems to training.
rajkumar
BRFite
Posts: 422
Joined: 22 Sep 2000 11:31
Location: London U.K
Contact:

Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by rajkumar »

Vips wrote:Months after starting construction, contractor for Zojila in Jammu and Kashmir seeks alternate alignment for tunnel.

Barely months after starting the construction of Zojila tunnel in Jammu and Kashmir, the contractor has sought alternate alignment for the tunnel. It has cited difficulties in the construction on the approved alignment of the tunnel and that the new alignment will reduce the tunnel length by 1.2 km
This is quite normal for tunnels happens all the time.
Vips
BRF Oldie
Posts: 4699
Joined: 14 Apr 2017 18:23

Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by Vips »

For many years this tunnel was in planning stage. With the geological information that was available why was this shorter alignment not planned and finalized at the "Tender Stage" especially when the route is shorter, has less construction challenges and saves on the total cost? One would think this is common sense. Why is this coming now just 2-3 months after work has started? Something is not Kosher here.
M_Joshi
BRFite
Posts: 221
Joined: 15 Aug 2016 00:06

Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by M_Joshi »

This is despite Punjab & Haryana tolls closed currently. Figure will increase at least 10% once those tolls are operational as well.
Suraj
Forum Moderator
Posts: 15043
Joined: 20 Jan 2002 12:31

Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by Suraj »

I don't know how much credence to give to the 'world record' statements, but I'm not interested in such killjoy nitpicking. I find it a really great thing that people are competing and aspiring to get things done. Historically, enthusiasm about building public infrastructure was very low. To see this happen now is heartening. It may or may not be a WR, but I want to see companies field the best technology and build things as quickly as effectively possible.

There was a time when the Chinese boasted about the rate at which they built things. It's nice to see our counterpart to that now. We need a generation of fixed asset construction at a very rapid pace. The returns from that will be several generations of wealth accumulation and a complete break from the poverty of the past.

There's a desire to say they may be cutting corners, but it's worth watching the pics and videos on Twitter and elsewhere - they are using cutting edge technology and materials, which helps smoothen the construction process and speed it up dramatically. Massive multiple lane road paving machines, track laying machines, overhead electric line installation machine... back when golden quadrilateral was build under the Vajpayee era, all this did not exist.

Delhi-Mumbai Expressway (very recent pics: https://twitter.com/SahilInfra/status/1 ... 24672?s=20) is 1300km, work inaugurated 2019, well on track to be ready by 2022-23. That's fast for a 1300km access controlled 8-lane expressway. It's going to look particularly stunning in Ahmedabad where the DME, DFC and the Mumbai-Ahmedabad-Delhi high speed lines run parallel across the Sabarmati river. For the locals from there, is the new cricket stadium near where all these river bridges are ?
AkshaySG
BRFite
Posts: 407
Joined: 30 Jul 2020 08:51

Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by AkshaySG »

Suraj wrote: It's going to look particularly stunning in Ahmedabad where the DME, DFC and the Mumbai-Ahmedabad-Delhi high speed lines run parallel across the Sabarmati river. For the locals from there, is the new cricket stadium near where all these river bridges are ?

The DME will not go via Ahmedabad , It turns right after Vadodara and moves toward Godhra , There will be exits between the two for those proceeding towards Ahmedabad

Anyway the new stadium is in the same place as the old one (Motera) which is across the river from the Airport , Not sure if the HSR will go nearby it or not

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Naren ... 72.5975275
Last edited by AkshaySG on 04 Mar 2021 09:06, edited 1 time in total.
Rahulsidhu
BRFite
Posts: 165
Joined: 22 Mar 2017 06:19

Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by Rahulsidhu »

Suraj wrote: There was a time when the Chinese boasted about the rate at which they built things. It's nice to see our counterpart to that now. We need a generation of fixed asset construction at a very rapid pace. The returns from that will be several generations of wealth accumulation and a complete break from the poverty of the past.
Totally agree.

Also worth noting that these things have a strong momentum factor - as projects are sanctioned, the industry grows around that, which creates a forcing function for more projects (due to industry lobbies, jobs at stake, tax revenues and so on). It really feels that India is getting over a hump and this progress will culminate in a great physical infra maybe in 20 years from now. Critics will then be crying about "overbuilding", "roads to nowhere", "ghost cities" and so on but it will be a good place to be.
disha
BR Mainsite Crew
Posts: 8236
Joined: 03 Dec 2006 04:17
Location: gaganaviharin

Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by disha »

Suraj wrote: For the locals from there, is the new cricket stadium near where all these river bridges are ?
I am not a local from there even by 100s of kms. However I had to check out GIFT on a work related item (which unfortunately did not pan out).

As is my wont, I will give you a long winded answer. The answer is yes. But no you will not see the high speed express way taking you to Delhi anywhere near Ahmedabad, leave alone the sports complex.

The sports complex and the newly reconstructed stadium (I think it is the world's largest) is on the west of the Sabarmati river. Think of Sabarmati running North to South and the old Ahmedabad was set up on the east of Sabarmati. The new Ahmedabad is on the west of the river.

And now think that the stadium itself is bang in the middle of "Ahmedabad" with the Sabarmati river passing through right of center. Something like this "O|". Everything that is cool in Ahmedabad is on the west of the river. Including the Sabarmati west river front. Of course the river is not a straight line and the city is not a perfect circle.

You can anchor everything on the immense stadium and reference the rest from there.

The GIFT city itself is ~40Km NE. North and east across the river. And the airport itself is north east again across the river some ~12 km. So airport is in between the GIFT city and the stadium, one can go straight north from the airport and turn east, cross the river and you are in GIFT city. Or go south west, cross the bridge into west ahmedabad and turn south again and come to the stadium.

There are some 7-8 city bridges spanning across sabarmati connecting east and west ahmedabad. And then there is the greater ring road with two more bridges.

So yes, the stadium is near 3 core bridges. All the city bridges are within 1-3 kms of each other forming the central core. The upcoming metro is like a cross with the North-South axis on the west of the river and the East-West axis running north of the stadium. Both axis intersect north of the stadium.

The current expressway from Vadodra to Ahmedabad is NE-1. NE-1 joins the ring road and connects to other highways north of Ahmedabad (to Udaipur/Mt. Abu) etc.

The current alignment of the Mumbai-Vadodra expressway skips Ahmedabad altogether. Mumbai to Vadodara expressway (being built) follows the current highway alignment and Vadodara is the junction from where the Vadodra-Delhi branch tees off by good 45* east passing through Godhra, Dahod, Ratlam (MP), Mukundra (Rajasthan), Ranthambore, Mewat, Gurugram, Delhi. Of course from the tee-off junction, you can catch NE-1 to reach Ahmedabad on the current high speed expressway.

So yes, in 2022, you can fly down to Ahmedabad, do local tourism there, drive down to Vadodra, check out the city and then drive up to Ranthambore. From Ranthambore you can drive to Jaipur, Udaipur, come back to Ahmedabad, go to mt. Abu and come back to Ahmedabad to fly out. Or hopefully take a bullet train to Mumbai and from there go to Mangaloru, take a scary ride to Madikeri, onward to Mysore (another scary ride) and fly out to Chennai using local airplane. From Chennai, you can drive down to Salem if the expressway is ready and check out Kanyakumari. And reach Cochin and fly out.

By 2025, ppl will be driving from Cochin to Ayodhya. In maybe 24 hours over this expressways. The thought is both exciting and scary.
yensoy
BRF Oldie
Posts: 2494
Joined: 29 May 2002 11:31
Location: USA

Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by yensoy »

^^^^ If we have safe, comfortable overnight buses which can cover 1200km or thereabouts in 10-12 hours, it may hugely benefit point-to-point connectivity and take away a lot of burden from the railways which can refocus on (i) commuter/high speed day travel traffic, (ii) traffic > 1200km and (iii) freight besides of course BPL oriented trains.
Suraj
Forum Moderator
Posts: 15043
Joined: 20 Jan 2002 12:31

Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by Suraj »

Thanks for all the comments on Ahmedabad! Closest I've been to that city is Mumbai :-)
Rahulsidhu wrote:Also worth noting that these things have a strong momentum factor - as projects are sanctioned, the industry grows around that, which creates a forcing function for more projects (due to industry lobbies, jobs at stake, tax revenues and so on). It really feels that India is getting over a hump and this progress will culminate in a great physical infra maybe in 20 years from now. Critics will then be crying about "overbuilding", "roads to nowhere", "ghost cities" and so on but it will be a good place to be.
Yes a very good point indeed. The momentum around work makes it a virtuous cycle of investment. The Fastag initiative is removing one more avenue to graft and mismanagement affecting the operation of highways, enabling better financial management. One of the fascinating things about the Chinese is how they seemingly are able to circumvent the normal process of boom and bust in investment cycles, prolonging the growth phase by redeploying into more asset creation, able to creatively finance the period between 'overbuilding' as you put it, and the point where demand catches up with the new glut of supply. I wonder if anyone has done a deep analysis of how they manage it. Maybe there's creative account, and maybe there's some really interesting lessons, but whatever it is, It would be interesting to understand in depth.
Mollick.R
BRFite
Posts: 1033
Joined: 15 Aug 2016 10:26

Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by Mollick.R »

Though Partially, but still another den of corruption broken...............

Govt starts Aadhaar-based driving license services, does away with RTO visits

NEW DELHI: According to a new notification by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), candidates will not be needed to give the RTO office a visit for a few services like attaining a learner’s license, driving license renewal, vehicle registration and many more.
MoRTH has now rolled out an Aadhar-based authentication for a total of 18 services that will not require you to pay a visit to your regional RTO.[/b] The roll-out comes almost 3 weeks after the MoRTH issued a draft order to integrate the Aadhar authentication with a few services.


TIMES OF INDIA NEWS LINK........
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/aut ... 329059.cms
Last edited by Mollick.R on 04 Mar 2021 23:22, edited 1 time in total.
Mollick.R
BRFite
Posts: 1033
Joined: 15 Aug 2016 10:26

Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by Mollick.R »

FROM TWITTER

MORTHINDIA @MORTHIndia· 5h

Certain services regarding Driving License and Certificate of Registration have been made completely online. Now these services can be availed without going to RTO. With Aadhaar authentication, on voluntary basis, anyone can get the benefit of these contactless services.

Image

Image

Image
Mollick.R
BRFite
Posts: 1033
Joined: 15 Aug 2016 10:26

Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by Mollick.R »

Recent Gazette(s) - Extra Ordinary// Gazette Notification

http://egazette.nic.in/WriteReadData/2021/225616.pdf
Suraj
Forum Moderator
Posts: 15043
Joined: 20 Jan 2002 12:31

Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by Suraj »

That is a spectacular piece of reform! Take away all contact with RTO except for complicated requirements. Take away all contact with toll payment booths and depend entirely on electronic payments. These are world beating level of modernity in smoothening bureaucratic interfaces to the transport sector.
Rahulsidhu
BRFite
Posts: 165
Joined: 22 Mar 2017 06:19

Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by Rahulsidhu »

Rahulsidhu wrote: ... It really feels that India is getting over a hump and this progress will culminate in a great physical infra maybe in 20 years from now. Critics will then be crying about "overbuilding", "roads to nowhere", "ghost cities" and so on but it will be a good place to be.
Thinking about this a little more, my "getting over a hump" description does not make a lot of sense, I think a much better model is to think of infra building as an S-curve, and India is just at the first inflexion point. Which means we are getting to the steep part of the curve, and there will be very speedy buildout over the next several years, before there will be a saturation and slowdown after the second inflexion point
Suraj wrote: One of the fascinating things about the Chinese is how they seemingly are able to circumvent the normal process of boom and bust in investment cycles, prolonging the growth phase by redeploying into more asset creation, able to creatively finance the period between 'overbuilding' as you put it, and the point where demand catches up with the new glut of supply. I wonder if anyone has done a deep analysis of how they manage it. Maybe there's creative account, and maybe there's some really interesting lessons, but whatever it is, It would be interesting to understand in depth.
Not an expert on China but I can share my understanding of how they managed it. In short, they invest a LOT in fixed asset investment:

https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NE ... start=1960

and much of it is planned/centrally directed. It's remarkable how even as a % of GDP, FAI kept on rising till about a decade back and even now continues at a very high %

PErhaps not surprisingly a lot of these projects were duds, and we keep seeing stories of these in international media, but the dog bites man story is that a lot of these assets are also really worthwhile, and has really helped the economy and living standards while also pushing them to the top in many industires e.g high speed rail.

The way they managed to avoid crashing their financial system due to the dud projects is through continuous indirect (loose policy) and regular direct (bailouts) support to the financial institutions that fund these projects. In other words they take a very functional finance approach to these things - what must be built will be built, even if there are a few mistakes on the way. They would rather make type 2 errors than type 1.

A lot of economists have been watching the consequent debt buildup and predicting a slowdown if not a crash, but their analytical frameworks are simply wrong. But that is a story for another day.
sanjaykumar
BRF Oldie
Posts: 6088
Joined: 16 Oct 2005 05:51

Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by sanjaykumar »

Thinking about this a little more, my "getting over a hump" description does not make a lot of sense, I think a much better model is to think of infra building as an S-curve, and India is just at the first inflexion point. Which means we are getting to the steep part of the curve, and there will be very speedy buildout over the next several years, before there will be a saturation and slowdown after the second inflexion point



Good observation on the dynamics of sigmoid curve processes. It would be good to analyse why this is so.
vsunder
BRFite
Posts: 1353
Joined: 06 Sep 1999 11:31
Location: Ulan Bator, Mongolia

Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by vsunder »

National Highways construction in 2020-21 (in km):

Mar: 210

Apr: 637
May: 976
Jun: 834
Jul: 665
Aug: 629
Sep: 677
Oct: 1579
Nov: 1560
Dec: 402
Jan: 1073
Feb: 1793

Total till 1 March 21: 11035

Average: 32.85 km/day

Target(31 Mar, 21): 11000
✅


Previous best: 10855 (18-19)

Bundelkhand Expressway, Chitrakoot Dham to Etawah 50% complete.
Post Reply