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.
Vips
BRF Oldie
Posts: 4699
Joined: 14 Apr 2017 18:23

Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by Vips »

Zojila-tunnel to Ladakh may be ready in 2025, a year ahead of sept 2026 schedule.

The final phase of the strategic Zojila tunnel project on Srinagar-Leh highway is likely to be completed in September 2025, a year before the deadline set.

The makers of the tunnel, located 3,528 metres above sea level, are hopeful that defence personnel will be able to use the tunnel in raw form by September 2024, which will allow the movement of essential supplies, artillery, arms and ammunition towards the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh, where India and China are engaged in a -off since May 2020.

The tunnels located in Sonamarg area of Ganderbal district in central Kashmir, more than 100 km from Srinagar, will provide an all-weather connectivity to Ladakh, which remains cut off from the rest of the country for four to six winter months every year.

The tunnels located in Sonamarg area of Ganderbal district in central Kashmir, more than 100 km from Srinagar, will provide an all-weather connectivity to Ladakh, which remains cut off from the rest of the country for four to six winter months every year.

The engineering team engaged in the projects said the project involves 18-km tunnels, including a 13-km single tube tunnel falling in the final phase of the project, which will connect Sonamarg to Minamarg. The project also includes a 17-km road, four bridges, three vertical shafts and associated structures.

"When the final tube of Zojila project is complete, the 32-km distance from Sonamarg to Minamarg will be covered in less than 40 minutes instead of four hours. Besides this, all-weather connectivity will immensely help the people of Ladakh and the forces deployed in the region," said Harpal Singh, project in-charge of Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Limited, which is constructing the tunnel. "We are hopeful that the tunnel will be through by September 2025, while defence can use the raw tunnel if the tension along the border continues in Ladakh till September 2024."

He said about 1,000 people worked on the project throughout the winters, despite harsh weather conditions, sub-zero temperature and no connectivity. In summer, the number of workers on the project is likely to surpass 2,000.

Singh said by November 2023, the 18-km stretch up to Baltal, including four tubes of Nilgrar tunnels, will be complete and can be put to use as well. The BJP government is pushing hard if the tension along the border continues in Ladakh till September 2024." ahead of the next parliamentary election in the country.

"Himalayas are young mountains and we could not go for a blast every day. We use the New Austrian Tunnelling method in this project. Our designers and proof consultant are from Spain," said Singh.

The project in-charge said the completion of the tunnel will help boost the economy of Ladakh and people will get all essential commodities in winters, even if there is heavy snowfall.
Ambar
BRF Oldie
Posts: 3173
Joined: 12 Jun 2010 09:56
Location: Weak meek unkil Sam!

Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by Ambar »

After fuel prices its now turn of toll prices to increase. The only good thing to come out of this spectacular increase in commuting expenses is i see more and more overweight middleaged people on bicycles these days ! Brings back memories of 1980s India, ofcourse people were much smaller and lighter then !
At a time when fuel prices have been spiralling, even road transport, particularly on national highways, is going to get expensive from April 1. According to reports, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) will be increasing the toll tax on highways by 15%.

Revised rates have been issued for all types of vehicles plying on national highways. The toll fee will be hiked by Rs 5 to Rs 50, depending on the type of vehicle. Orders in this regard have been issued to all regional NHAI officials, finalising the new fees for the 2022-23 fiscal.
https://auto.hindustantimes.com/auto/ne ... 05124.html
Vips
BRF Oldie
Posts: 4699
Joined: 14 Apr 2017 18:23

Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by Vips »

Highway toll collections up 63% on year to over Rs 38,000 cr in FY22.

Toll collections through FASTags went up by nearly 67% on year to Rs 38,084 crore in FY22, in keeping with the trend of robust growth in such receipts over the last few years.

At the end of March 2021, a total of 49.5 million FASTags were issued. the figure was 31.2 million in March 2020. As per official data, as many as 270.41 million FASTag transactions were recorded in March, up 11% over February this year.

Collection of user fees on highways, both state and national highways, also went up nearly 13% to Rs 4,095 crore in March over a month ago.
In March 2021, Rs 3,086 crore was collected as toll from 193.21 million transactions.

In March 2020, there were 84.55 million FASTag transactions and `1,421 crore was collected as toll through the electronic mode of collection of user fees on highways. FASTags are used to collect toll on national highways and a few state highways where it has been implemented.

The Centre declared all lanes of fee plazas on national highways as FASTag lane with effect from midnight of February 16, 2021.
On national highways, FASTag penetration now stands at 96.5%. Around 964 toll plazas are live on FASTag now across the country.

“The rise in FASTag transactions and collection of toll points towards heightened economic activity. The collections will witness a steep increase in coming months given the significant hike in toll rates in the range of 8.4-13% with effect from April 1, 2022. Further, the increase in traffic is expected to be in the range of 5-6%,” said Icra’s Rajeshwar Burla.

The bump up in FASTag will be much more in year-on-year terms for April and May 2022 as there was an element of productivity loss in April and May 2021 due to the impact of the second wave on people movement which witnessed 10-25% drop in toll collections on a sequential basis, he said.

The rise in traffic on highways and resulting higher toll would yield well for the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to build newer stretches and retire debt that mounted to `3.5 trillion at the end of March 2022.
Cyrano
BRF Oldie
Posts: 5478
Joined: 28 Mar 2020 01:07

Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by Cyrano »

Gadkari has been betting on increased toll collection to fund road infra asset creation. Its paying off...not to mention indirect benefits in terms of increased economic activity and efficiency.
ldev
BRF Oldie
Posts: 2616
Joined: 06 Nov 2002 12:31

Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by ldev »

If you have time I suggest you watch this absolute tour de force of a presentation/speech by Nitin Gadkari, Minister for Road Transport & HIghways in Parliament in March, 2022. It is 1 hr and 20 minutes but worth watching in full. It's not just a speech but a catalogue of his Ministry's achievements under him and his road map for the future.

VinodTK
BRF Oldie
Posts: 2982
Joined: 18 Jun 2000 11:31

Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by VinodTK »

^^^ Extremely impressive a must watch
Prasad
BRF Oldie
Posts: 7793
Joined: 16 Nov 2007 00:53
Location: Chennai

Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by Prasad »

It is not just increased toll collection but fastag means that toll collectors no longer can avoid showing true collections since it is all digital and 1000x quicker than manual work earlier.
viveks
BRFite
Posts: 341
Joined: 17 Nov 2004 06:01

Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by viveks »

They should also make toll cost dynamic and dependent on petrol prices. If there is price hike, toll prices should fall. IF the price goes down, then increase back the toll costs. That way they can compensate between the two.
Cyrano
BRF Oldie
Posts: 5478
Joined: 28 Mar 2020 01:07

Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by Cyrano »

Why? The business model of par-per use roads will already suffer if people drive less or pool transport due to expensive fuel. On a typical 100 km+ intra-city trip which uses toll roads, fuel is a bigger cost than toll charges. Reducing toll fees will reduce collections and hurt the infra funding model even more, no ?
Vips
BRF Oldie
Posts: 4699
Joined: 14 Apr 2017 18:23

Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by Vips »

BRO to set up new RCC units, task force for development work in Ladakh: DG

The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) will be setting up new road construction company (RCC) units and a task force for carrying out various development project work in Ladakh, Director General (DG), BRO, Lieutenant General Rajeev Chaudhary said on Friday.

This was conveyed by Lt Gen Chaudhary to Ladakh Lieutenant Governor R K Mathur when he called him at the Raj Niwas in Leh.

The BRO chief also asked the Lt Governor for the allotment of land for carrying out various project works in the Indian territory.

Lt Gen Chaudhary briefed Mathur about the BRO's ongoing project work in Ladakh, including the Hanuthang-Handanbroke-Zingpal-Turtuk road, status of the detailed project report (DPR) for Kela Pass, construction of Chushul-Demchok road and progress on the Nimoo-Padum-Darcha road on the Sino-Indian border, an official statement said.

Mathur appreciated the BRO for opening the Zoji La and Manali-Leh national highways in record time and also for working for the welfare of the labourers, it said.

The LG inquired about the time frame and challenges faced by the BRO for the completion of the Nimoo-Padum-Darcha road and also suggested that the organisation may simultaneously develop an alternate route. He also asked the BRO for improvement of the gradient of the Nimoo-Padum-Darcha road, the statement said.

Lt Gen Chaudhary also provided updates on the installation of crash barriers using steel wire ropes on roadsides to avoid accidents and setting up ‘labour sarais' with proper heating, washing, drinking and bathing facilities for labourers.

He also informed about an initiative for the establishment of cafes along the national highway in Ladakh, the statement said.
Mort Walker
BRF Oldie
Posts: 10033
Joined: 31 May 2004 11:31
Location: The rings around Uranus.

Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by Mort Walker »

Could someone kindly post a map showing the 22 major expressways under construction. I can look each of them up, but it would be nice to have a map. The Ministry for Road Transport & HIghways doesn't have it on their web site - or that it is not easily found. I find this disappointing.
M_Joshi
BRFite
Posts: 221
Joined: 15 Aug 2016 00:06

Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by M_Joshi »

^^

Image

Image

Image
Vips
BRF Oldie
Posts: 4699
Joined: 14 Apr 2017 18:23

Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by Vips »

The new Padam Darcha Road construction will start very soon and will be completed by Dec 2025.

Image

BRO will build a 4.25 Km long tunnel on Shinkun La. At 16,580 Feet, and once completed it will be the highest motorable tunnel in the world.


Vips
BRF Oldie
Posts: 4699
Joined: 14 Apr 2017 18:23

Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by Vips »

Govt to spend 31, 000 crore, build 64 border roads and 103 bridges.

The government has proposed construction of 64 strategic roads with a total length of 3,508 km and 103 bridges in areas falling in the India-China, Indo-Pakistan and Indo-Myanmar border areas with an estimated cost of over Rs 31000 crore. Nearly three-fourth of the roads and all the proposed bridges would come up in areas close to the IndiaChina border. The proposals would be placed soon before the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) for approval, sources said.

Officials said the strategic roads, which have been identified for ‘India @75 Strategic Roads Package (ISRP)’, will also help reduce the road head
differential gap with the border as compared to neighbouring countries.

They said in Arunachal Pradesh, except for Kameng Sector, which is the border area opposite Tawang, the distance of road head from Indian
border varies from 20 km to 120 km. But in the case of China, it’s less than 8 km all along the border.

“Nearly 78% of the entire investment would be made in the projects that would be built in India-China border areas while roads proposed in India-Pakistan border areas would get another 14% of the total investment,” said a source.

Officials said the identified road and bridge projects are also aimed at improving connectivity along the border states, including Arunachal, Manipur, Sikkim, Mizoram, J&K, Ladakh, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan and Himachal Prad esh. The government has proposed to complete all these projects by March 2029, which will also enhance the operational capabilities of arm of armed forces and help accelerate socio-economic activities in these regions.

Out of the 64 road projects, 41 are proposed to be “greenfield to be built on new alignment.
chetak
BRF Oldie
Posts: 32277
Joined: 16 May 2008 12:00

Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by chetak »

Due to be inaugurated in the second week of June this year


Image
Bundelkhand Expressway in UP (UPEIDA/Twitter)
JTull
BRF Oldie
Posts: 3118
Joined: 18 Jul 2001 11:31

Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by JTull »

BRO does it again! Know more about Nechiphu Tunnel in Arunachal Pradesh
Final “break through blast” was conducted successfully by the Border Road Organisation (BRO), marking the completion of excavation work of the Nechiphu Tunnel. This tunnel is located in Arunachal Pradesh and the “break through blast” was done remotely by Director General of BRO Lt Gen Rajeev Chaudhry on Friday.

More about the Nechiphu Tunnel
Located on the Balipara-Charduar-Tawang (BCT) Road in West Kameng District, it is at an altitude of 5,700 feet, and is 500-metre-long, unique “D-shaped, Single Tube Double Lane Tunnel ”.

According to an official statement issued by BRO, the foundation stone of the project was laid by defence minister Rajnath Singh on October 12, 2020. This tunnel, equipped with modern lighting and safety facilities, is expected to accommodate two-way traffic.

There will be state-of-the-art electro-mechanical systems as well as fire fighting devices. Also, Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) controlled monitoring systems and auto illumination systems.

For safer pedestrian movement, it is expected to accommodate raised footpaths on both sides with ducts for utility lines to strengthen the civic amenities infrastructure and also power cables, optical fibre cables.

Why was this tunnel conceived?
To bypass the extreme foggy conditions around theNechiphu Pass, this tunnel was planned. Due to the fogginess, military convoys and general traffic found it hard to move.

Project Vartak
Excavation work on another strategic tunnel under Project Vartak has been completed — the Twin Tube (1,555 meter and 980 meter) “Sela Tunnel Project” on the same road.

And today’s blast marks the cumulative excavation of more than 4,500 meters, achieved in less than two years.

Once the tunnel becomes operational, the Nechiphu Tunnel and Sela Tunnel will prove all weather safe and strategic connectivity on the BCT Road. And will also help in reducing the carbon foot-print in the eco-sensitive area in the region.

Tunnel Construction
The construction which is going on is accomplished by cutting through highly fractured and fragile rock strata.

In accordance with the New Austrian Tunnelling Method (NATM), the challenges are being met through 3D monitoring and application of the desired tunnel support systems.

In the last two years the BRO has successfully executed infrastructural marvels in the most challenging areas of the country.

Tunnelling in a big way has been completed at High Altitude and Mountainous tunnels — Rohtang in Himachal Pradesh, Atal Tunnel, the Chamba Tunnel in Uttarakhand, all have already been dedicated to the nation.

Now the BRO is constructing small tunnels with the help of the manpower resources integral to the organisation.
chetak
BRF Oldie
Posts: 32277
Joined: 16 May 2008 12:00

Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by chetak »

Gujarat News

India’s first three layer flyover will be inaugurated in Surat today 19 june.

BJP led Surat Municipal Corporation built this.



Image

Image
chetak
BRF Oldie
Posts: 32277
Joined: 16 May 2008 12:00

Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by chetak »

^^^^^^^


another view of the same multi-layer overbridge in Surat.


Image
Vips
BRF Oldie
Posts: 4699
Joined: 14 Apr 2017 18:23

Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by Vips »

Nat'l Highways to be GIS mapped by July.

The government is going all out to complete GIS mapping of national highways for better planning, execution and monitoring of the road network and timely completion of projects.

Geographic Information System (GIS) technology is expected to come to the aid of road construction agencies as it would provide detailed information on alignments and any obstruction in the path of highways.

Tasked to take up the speed of highway construction to 50 km per day, the ministry of road transport and highways (MoRTH) has asked all its field units as well as state governments to complete the GIS mapping process of the national entire highway network by 31 July.

They have been told to use the data for mapping, already gathered by the Bhaskaracharya National Institute for Space Applications, for field verification exercise.

Bhaskaracharya National Institute for Space Applications and Geo-informatics (BISAG-N), Gandhinagar, Gujarat has done GIS mapping of approximately 130,000 km of national highways. But this data now needs to be updated and verified by field units of the different agencies for the ministry.

GIS mapping makes use of satellite images but goes beyond it by analysing satellite data in order to provide authorities with an accurate picture of the project.

The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI), the prime highway executing agency, has almost completed the exercise for the NHs assigned with them with the cooperation of their field units. It is expected that once other agencies also complete the task by next month, work on new highway alignments could be started at a faster pace.

A official at MoRTH said that GIS mapping of the entire network of highways is one of the most important requirements for planning, executing and monitoring of the network and the ministry is moving at rapid pace to involve all agencies and update and verify mapping work already done by Bisag.

GIS provides agencies with tools for building resilient infrastructure for the future and supporting strategic repairs and upgrades to existing networks, the official quoted above said.

GIS maps contains a very detailed visual representation of any infrastructure facility including location, topography, facilities and structures, and images.

As these maps can easily be assessed even through mobile phones and shared, it makes the process of road construction and finalisation of highway networks easier.

MoRTH has decided to upload the entire NH network on a single unified platform irrespective of the executing agency, be it NHAI, National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL), Border Roads Organization (BRO) or state governments, to avoid duplication.
Cyrano
BRF Oldie
Posts: 5478
Joined: 28 Mar 2020 01:07

Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by Cyrano »

Smart indegenous traffic signals in Hyderabad. May be not the first or the only place to have this but good to see progress nevertheless

https://telanganatoday.com/new-traffic- ... -hyderabad
Cyrano
BRF Oldie
Posts: 5478
Joined: 28 Mar 2020 01:07

Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by Cyrano »

jaysimha
BRFite
Posts: 1696
Joined: 20 Dec 2017 14:30

Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by jaysimha »

History Channel presents a movie on BRO Atal Tunnel, Rohtang entitled "Modern Marvel: Atal Tunnel" Oct 20, 2022 at 8 pm
A tribute to world-class engineering marvel created by India
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/ajay-kum ... er_desktop
vijayk
BRF Oldie
Posts: 8785
Joined: 22 Jun 1999 11:31

Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by vijayk »

Image
VinodTK
BRF Oldie
Posts: 2982
Joined: 18 Jun 2000 11:31

Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by VinodTK »

Eye on China, govt plans a 1,700-km 'frontier highway'
NEW DELHI: The government, in the next five years, will build a new highway in Arunachal Pradesh that will run close to the India-Tibet-China-Myanmar border. At some locations, the 'frontier highway' will be as close as 20km from the international border.
The 1,748-km long two-lane road, which has huge strategic significance and aims to stop migration of people from border areas, will be built by the road transport ministry. This is the longest NH that the Centre has notified in one go in recent times.
The road, designated as NH-913, will come as a big boost for seamless movement of defence forces and equipment to the border which has been seeing repeated incursion attempts by China. China reportedly has been building infrastructure on its side of the LAC.
The highway will start from Bomdila and pass through Nafra, Huri and Monigong, which is the closest point on the India-Tibet border. The road will also pass through Jido and Chenquenty, which are closest to the China border, and will terminate at Vijaynagar, near India-Myanmar border.

The entire stretch has been divided into nine packages. Though road transport minister Nitin Gadkari had said the project would cost around Rs 27,000 crore, now the government is looking into options to reduce the cost.

"Nearly 800km of the corridor will be greenfield as there is no existing road on these stretches. There will be some bridges and tunnels as well. We have chalked out the plan to complete the sanctioning of all works in 2024-25 and usually it takes around two years to complete construction. Different packages will get completed as we progress while the entire project is expected for completion by 2026-27," said a government official.


The project 'empowered committee on border infrastructure' in 2016 had first recommended the road transport and highways ministry to take steps for survey and preparation of the detailed project reports (DPRs) based on the alignment finalised by the Department of Border Management under the home ministry and in consultation with the defence ministry and state government. Later in July 2018, the home ministry gave input for providing connectivity to certain areas.

Officials said after finalising the alignment, the government notified the entire corridor as a National Highway in November. "Once a road is notified as NH, the responsibility comes to the road transport ministry to build it. There is also a proposal to develop inter-corridors in Arunachal Pradesh connecting the frontier highway," a source said.


The government looks at these activities to give impetus to development of villages close to the international borders. "Such roads and development works will put a check on migration from these villages," said an official.
vijayk
BRF Oldie
Posts: 8785
Joined: 22 Jun 1999 11:31

Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by vijayk »

https://swarajyamag.com/reports/explain ... etising-it
Explained: How BMC Is Planning To Fix Perennially Potholed Mumbai Roads By Roping In National Highway Contractors And Concretising Them
The Context : As part of its effort to get Mumbai rid of its perenially potholed roads, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has finalised five big construction firms experienced in national highway construction to execute the 397-km Cement Concrete (CC) road work.

Swarajya explains the mega-tender project and why the BMC selected companies with expertise in major road infrastructure projects and weeded out small road contractors.

What is unique about Mumbai Roads?

The bad condition of roads in Mumbai is due to the legacy of North-South orientation of city traffic, poor condition of roads and availability of little space for expanding and improving the roads.

Moreover, the state of city’s roads becomes even worse during the monsoon rains when rains play havoc with life in Mumbai. The heavy continuous rain deteriorates road surface - particularly, of the bitumen road which most of the city roads are made of - and leads to development of pot holes and deteriorated pavement.

The problem is compounded by a multitude of agencies tasked with the up-keep and maintenance of roads - 15 agencies including BMC, Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) and State PWD among others manage these roads.
https://twitter.com/TOIMumbai/status/16 ... 0489864192

TOI Mumbai
@TOIMumbai
Mumbai may turn into Joshimath if all roads concretised: Aaditya Thackeray a.k.a LITTLE PENGUIN
nachiket
Forum Moderator
Posts: 9102
Joined: 02 Dec 2008 10:49

Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by nachiket »

The problem with Mumbai's roads, has always been the BMC itself. The poor quality of asphalt used and terrible quality of surfacing work done by contractors has all happened with the willing connivance of the corrupt BMC corporators for whom the repeated repair and resurfacing contracts is a big money-maker. This was always a feature not a bug. Concreting if done right can eliminate this constant repair. Perhaps certain balls in the BMC are being squeezed by the Shinde-Fadnavis govt. to make this happen. It remains to be seen if they are actually able to go through with it.

Beyond the quality of the road surface, Mumbai's roads also lack proper road markings, lane markings, painted crosswalks, painted speedbumps, street name signs etc. Whatever markings they do paint disappear so quickly as to be utterly useless.

I remember the first and only time I visited Bengaluru. I had heard so much about the terrible roads and traffic of the city, I was expecting a bigger mess than Mumbai. But I ended up surprised that despite the traffic, how much better the roads there (in the city and some highways outside) felt than the ones in Mumbai and Konkan area of MH in general. I have avoided visiting Delhi for years to stay safe from an even bigger inferiority complex :lol: .
vsunder
BRFite
Posts: 1356
Joined: 06 Sep 1999 11:31
Location: Ulan Bator, Mongolia

Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by vsunder »

PM Modi inaugurates the first section of the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway tomorrow February 12th from Sohna to Dausa. This will cut travel time from Jaipur to Delhi by 2-3 hours.

https://twitter.com/Sahilinfra2/status/ ... 72/photo/1
Y I Patel
BRFite
Posts: 780
Joined: 01 Jan 1970 05:30

Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by Y I Patel »

Welcome back vsunder!
Vayutuvan
BRF Oldie
Posts: 12062
Joined: 20 Jun 2011 04:36

Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by Vayutuvan »

Welcome back @vsunder ji. You too moved to Ulan Bator?
vsunder
BRFite
Posts: 1356
Joined: 06 Sep 1999 11:31
Location: Ulan Bator, Mongolia

Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by vsunder »

@YI Patel @Vayutuvan Thanks. I was in Ulan Bator since I joined.
@YI Patel: Here is something for you to factor. SeLa tunnel was supposed to open this month. This would seriously curtail the mischief making propensities of our neighbor at Tawang. This is perhaps the last summer. What has happened is that the humidity levels inside one of the two tunnels, I do not know which one the long one or the shorter one is too high and prevents concrete for finishing works from setting fast. So shuttering is removed after a longer period. BRO is reluctant to do finishing works quickly as this they claim would lead to them coming back to fix the problem. The tunnels were done a while back. The target for completion is now July 2023. Completion would give all weather access to Tawang beginning July and obviate the need for chains on wheels to climb 13,000 feet snow covered SeLa pass in the winter and places a huge burden on BRO to maintain clear roads in winter. Thus the window for making mischief is diminishing.

Also the 1224km Amritsar--Bathinda---Barmer---Jamnagar Expressway passing through 4 states is almost ready and scheduled for completion by September 2023. It connects refineries at Bathinda, Barmer and Jamnagar and has also been tested by IAF aircraft landing and taking off on the expressway. It runs parallel to the western border. Journey time of 26hours from Amritsar to Jamnagar will now be cut to 13 hours.

But it is the scale of projects in Arunachal and construction of new bridges across Brahmaputra at Guwahati and other places that has some people in a deep fix. Most of these new bridges will give savings from anywhere 5 -10 hours in travel time.

The most important is the 7000 crore tunnel 9km upstream from the current Kaliabhomora bridge near Tezpur which is an important Army HQ. This tunnel under the Brahmaputra will be 3 tubes. One for rail, one for road and the third for emergency purposes. The intent is clear to have something non-degragadable. Once hostilities start, Bogibeel bridge and other bridges could be taken out.Tunnels if hardened have a chance to survive.
vsunder
BRFite
Posts: 1356
Joined: 06 Sep 1999 11:31
Location: Ulan Bator, Mongolia

Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by vsunder »

Bangalore to Mysore Limited access Expressway is scheduled to be inaugurated by PM Modi in March. This is a 120km expressway. Top speed is 100kmph and will allow one to reach Mysuru from Bangalore in 90 minutes. It is 10 laned with a 6 lane central carriageway with 4 lanes as service roads, 2 on each side. Construction was done in 2 packages. Bypasses at Srirangapatna, Bidadi, Mandya etc. Currently 2 wheelers are allowed on the expressway. Once inaugurated and toll plazas operational, no two wheelers will be allowed.

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

Proposal is to name it Kaveri Expressway

https://starofmysore.com/10-lane-mysuru ... galuru-mp/
vsunder
BRFite
Posts: 1356
Joined: 06 Sep 1999 11:31
Location: Ulan Bator, Mongolia

Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by vsunder »

First segment has been launched on the longest bridge being constructed in India. This is the Dhubri--Phulbari bridge which is 19.3 km long over the Brahmaputra out of which 12.7km is over water. The bridge connects Assam with Meghalaya and cost is 5000 crores. L&T is the construction company and target for completion is end 2026. The length of this bridge is double the length of the current longest bridge in India.

Here is a video with more details

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SeHI_6m3OBo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-QWCYVA5pg

There will be a saving of 250km in distance once the bridge is built. Bridges on the Brahmaputra are not that many, many have come up in recent times like Bogibeel, but more are needed. Here is another bridge being constructed over Brahmaputra connecting Guwahati with North Guwahati. Right now it is a pain going from one to another.Very good speed of construction.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9lhAZMRsZ4
vsunder
BRFite
Posts: 1356
Joined: 06 Sep 1999 11:31
Location: Ulan Bator, Mongolia

Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by vsunder »

One of the longest bridges across the Ganga at 9.7km near Patna which will make a great difference in connecting North and South Bihar is fast nearing completion after some time. Completion is targeted Dec 2023(not sure about this likely delayed), builder is L&T. This is the Kachi Darga to Bidupur bridge.

Kachchi Dargah-Bidupur Bridge – Information & Status

Kachchi Dargah – Bidupur Bridge project in Bihar is a 9.75 km long 6 lane extra-dosed bridge over River Ganga under construction by Larsen & Toubro – Daewoo E&C for BSRDC.

The project’s foundation stone was laid in August 2015 and construction started in July 2017 with an aim to serve as an eastern bypass around Patna and reduce the load on Mahatma Gandhi Setu.

After it opens in 2024, the bridge will link north & south Bihar via National Highways NH-31 and NH-322. It will become the longest bridge over the Ganga River and the longest river bridge in India as well till Dubri to Phulbari bridge across the Brahmaputra ^^^ becomes operational.

Total Estimated Cost: Rs. 3,115 crore
Project’s Total Length: 9.75 km (approx.)
Lanes: 6
Status: Under Construction
Deadline: 2023-end

Here is a animated presentation:

https://youtu.be/6wt6qv0ua7o

The bridge itself:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kt68_ZOtCU8

Another bridge being built over the Ganga is near Munger at Sahibganj which will connect Jharkhand with Northeastern Indian. Sahibganj is now the location of a major inland port over the Ganga inaugurated by PM Modi 4 years ago on IW-1, Inland Waterways Route 1. Mineral wealth of Jharkhand is loaded onto barges at Sahibganj and the traffic is mainly barge traffic from Farakka---Sahibganj---Varanasi port.
Prasad
BRF Oldie
Posts: 7793
Joined: 16 Nov 2007 00:53
Location: Chennai

Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by Prasad »

vsunder wrote:Bangalore to Mysore Limited access Expressway is scheduled to be inaugurated by PM Modi in March. This is a 120km expressway. Top speed is 100kmph and will allow one to reach Mysuru from Bangalore in 90 minutes. It is 10 laned with a 6 lane central carriageway with 4 lanes as service roads, 2 on each side. Construction was done in 2 packages. Bypasses at Srirangapatna, Bidadi, Mandya etc. Currently 2 wheelers are allowed on the expressway. Once inaugurated and toll plazas operational, no two wheelers will be allowed.

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

Proposal is to name it Kaveri Expressway

https://starofmysore.com/10-lane-mysuru ... galuru-mp/
Butter-smooth and such a vast difference to the inner-city type road that existed earlier. Definitely a time-saver for Blr-Mys travel.
vsunder
BRFite
Posts: 1356
Joined: 06 Sep 1999 11:31
Location: Ulan Bator, Mongolia

Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by vsunder »

The Missing Link Project

This is a 13.3 km road to eliminate 19km of a dangerous section of the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, the first expressway in India. Currently this 19km in the Khandala ghats has hairpin bends and rockfalls occur in monsoons leading to accidents. Massive traffic jams occur here as there are merges. 8 lanes merge to 6.

On the new missing link project to eliminate the current 19km section, there are two cable stayed bridges 645m and 770m. The 770m cable stayed bridge is 150m above ground level, twin tunnels 1.6km long. Then there is another tunnel that that is 8.9km long under Lonavala lake. The tunnel will be 150m below ground level. AFCONS and Navayuga are the contractors. 6695 crores is the cost. The travel time between Pune and Mumbai will be reduced by 25 mins once the missing link project is complete and there will be added safety eliminating a dangerous section of the current expressway with its massive traffic jams. Scheduled to be completed March 2024, but most likely finished by early 2025. 60% of the work was complete in October 2022. The shorter tunnels of 1.6km are done. To carry the 8 lanes of traffic, the tunnels are among the widest in the world, each tube is 24m wide.

The 13.3km road will be 8 laned.

https://youtu.be/eIq16wL9hAs
SBajwa
BRF Oldie
Posts: 5778
Joined: 10 Jan 2006 21:35
Location: Attari

Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by SBajwa »

nachiket wrote:The problem with Mumbai's roads, has always been the BMC itself. The poor quality of asphalt used and terrible quality of surfacing work done by contractors has all happened with the willing connivance of the corrupt BMC corporators for whom the repeated repair and resurfacing contracts is a big money-maker. This was always a feature not a bug. Concreting if done right can eliminate this constant repair. Perhaps certain balls in the BMC are being squeezed by the Shinde-Fadnavis govt. to make this happen. It remains to be seen if they are actually able to go through with it.

Beyond the quality of the road surface, Mumbai's roads also lack proper road markings, lane markings, painted crosswalks, painted speedbumps, street name signs etc. Whatever markings they do paint disappear so quickly as to be utterly useless.

I remember the first and only time I visited Bengaluru. I had heard so much about the terrible roads and traffic of the city, I was expecting a bigger mess than Mumbai. But I ended up surprised that despite the traffic, how much better the roads there (in the city and some highways outside) felt than the ones in Mumbai and Konkan area of MH in general. I have avoided visiting Delhi for years to stay safe from an even bigger inferiority complex :lol: .
IMHO! problem is not the roads but the certification of how much load can be carried by vehicles. Indian vehicles regularly overload causing all the wear and tear on roads. This needs to be totally enforced., a 5 Ton road must not carry any load more than 5 tons and there need to be weighing stations at regular intervals with digitized information for enforcing authorities.
nachiket
Forum Moderator
Posts: 9102
Joined: 02 Dec 2008 10:49

Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by nachiket »

SBajwa wrote: IMHO! problem is not the roads but the certification of how much load can be carried by vehicles. Indian vehicles regularly overload causing all the wear and tear on roads. This needs to be totally enforced., a 5 Ton road must not carry any load more than 5 tons and there need to be weighing stations at regular intervals with digitized information for enforcing authorities.
Overloading is a much bigger problem on trucks traveling on intercity roads and highways. Not so much inside the city where most of the traffic is two-wheelers, private cars and autos. And I've repeatedly found the roads outside the city to be in better shape than the ones inside.
vsunder
BRFite
Posts: 1356
Joined: 06 Sep 1999 11:31
Location: Ulan Bator, Mongolia

Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by vsunder »

Samruddhi "Balasaheb Thackeray" Mahamarg

This is a 702km Expressway between Nagpur and Thane. Limited access expressway which is 6 lanes with facility to increasing the lanes to 8. The great contribution of Uddhav Thackeray to this expressway which was started by Fadnavis before the split, is that UT named it after his father, after that he did bugger all.

On Dec 11, 2022 PM Modi inaugurated a 520km section Nagpur to Shirdi. The expressway has animal overpasses and passes near Ajanta caves and many parts of under developed Vidarbha and Marathwada. Next month another 80km section Shirdi to Bharvir should be open. By June Bharvir to Igatpuri. By this year end the full expressway.

There are twin tunnels 8km long each one 15m wide in the Kasara--Igatpuri ghat section that is completely excavated. Finishing works going on in the tunnels. It will obviate the need to take 40mins to travel on a ghat section with dangerous hairpin bends, numerous accidents and traffic jams. The ghat section will be covered in 10 minutes using the twin tunnels. Speed limit is 120kmph and the opened section Nagpur to Shirdi has become very popular. Nagpur to Mumbai can be done in 8 hours from the 12 hours now utilizing the built portion of this Expressway.

One feature of this expressway was that the huge pits that were excavated for soil along the road are being used to harvest rainwater in drought prone Vidarbha, another scheme of Fadnavis.

The 8 km tunnels are the 4th longest road tunnels in India, the longest in MH. When the missing link tunnels ^^^ are complete, that tunnel under Lonavala lake will become the longest in MH and the Igatpuri--Kasara tunnel the second longest in MH.

The remaining section Phase 2 Shirdi to Mumbai to be completed by Dec 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqBd5RVdfAI

The tunnels

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SzLPyPrC2ik


Another important project 464km under Bharatmala Project: Raipur--Visakapatnam limited access Expressway takes 14 hours now and after the expressway is complete will take 7 hours. 3 tunnels.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIrc-HbJf6E

This 6 lane expressway passes through the "Red" Naxal corridor through infamous places like Dantewada. Offering connections to a major port, it will bring economic benefits to tribal areas that were under the Naxal sway for years.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PlVBv0TdU9M
vsunder
BRFite
Posts: 1356
Joined: 06 Sep 1999 11:31
Location: Ulan Bator, Mongolia

Re: Indian Roads Thread

Post by vsunder »

The Zuari River Bridge

The Zuari River bridge is an 8 lane bridge connecting North and South Goa on NH-66 and a busy artery connecting south to Karwar, Mangalore and Kerala and north to Mumbai which sees a lot of traffic. It is one of the longest cable stayed bridges in India to facilitate movement of ocean going traffic underneath it and has few pillars. 4 lanes were inaugurated by PM Modi in December 2022 and Dilip Buildcon claims the remaining 4 lanes will be activated by May 2023, might take longer. A restaurant has been planned atop one of the piers. There is a very long approach to the bridge. Load bearing capacity is 1000 tonnes and the road surface is a polymer made mix that does not let water percolate and so should be pothole free given the intense monsoons in this area.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pe1w7q7TkV8
Post Reply