The National highways in India are a network of trunk roads owned by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. National highways have flyover access or some controlled-access, where entrance and exit is through the side of the flyover, at each intersection of highways flyovers are provided to bypass the city/town/village traffic and these highways are designed for speed of 100 km/h. Some national highways have interchanges in between, but do not have total controlled-access throughout the highways. It is constructed and managed by the Central Public Works Department (CPWD), the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL), and the public works departments (PWD) of state governments. Currently, the longest National Highway in India is National Highway 44 at 4,112 km (2,555 mi). India started four laning of major national highways with National Highway Development Project (NHDP). As of March 2022 India have approximately 35,000 km of four laned National highways.
The Mandovi or Mahadayi, formerly known as the Rio de Goa, is a river described as the lifeline of the Indian state of Goa. The Mandovi and the Zuari are the two principal rivers in the state of Goa. The Mandovi joins with the Zuari at a common creek at Cabo Aguada, forming the Mormugao harbour. Panaji, the state capital and Old Goa, the former capital of Goa, are both situated on the left bank of the Mandovi.
Mahatma Gandhi Setu is a bridge over the river Ganges in Bihar, India, connecting Patna in the south to Hajipur in the north. Its length is 5,750 metres (18,860 ft) and it is the third-longest river bridge in India. It was inaugurated in May 1982 in a ceremony in Hajipur by the then prime minister, Indira Gandhi. From 1982 to 2017, Mahatma Gandhi Setu remained as the longest bridge in India. Later, Gandhi Setu rehabilitation project was undertaken to install triangular steel trusses on Mahatma Gandhi Setu.
The National Highways Authority of India or NHAI is an autonomous agency of the Government of India, set up in 1995 and is responsible for management of a road network of over 50,000 km of National Highways out of 1,32,499 km in India. It is a nodal agency of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH). NHAI has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for satellite mapping of highways.
The Bandra-Worli Sea Link is a 5.6 km long, 8-lane wide cable-stayed bridge that links Bandra in the Western Suburbs of Mumbai with Worli in South Mumbai. It is the longest sea bridge, as well as the 5th longest bridge in India after Mumbai Trans Harbour Link, Bhupen Hazarika Setu, Dibang River Bridge and Mahatma Gandhi Setu. It contains pre-stressed concrete-steel viaducts on either side. It was planned as a part of the proposed Western Freeway that would link the Western Suburbs to Nariman Point in Mumbai's main business district, but is now planned to become part of the Coastal Road to Kandivali.
Roads in India are an important mode of transport in India. India has a network of over 6,331,791 kilometres (3,934,393 mi) of roads. This is the second-largest road network in the world, after the United States. At of roads per square kilometre of land, the quantitative density of India's road network is equal to that of Hong Kong, and substantially higher than the United States, China, Brazil and Russia. Adjusted for its large population, India has approximately 5.13 kilometres (3.19 mi) of roads per 1,000 people, which is much lower than United States 20.5 kilometres (12.7 mi) but higher than that of China 3.6 kilometres (2.2 mi). India's road network carries over 71% of its freight and about 85% of passenger traffic.
Nitin Jairam Gadkari is an Indian politician from Maharashtra who is the current Minister for Road Transport & Highways in the Government of India. He is also the longest serving Minister for Road Transport & Highways currently running his tenure for over nine years. Gadkari earlier served as the President of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from 2009 to 2013. He is also known for his work as the Public Works Department Minister of the State of Maharashtra, where, under his leadership, a series of roads, highways and flyovers across the state were constructed.
Expressways are the highest class of roads in India. As of July 2023, India has a total length of 5,342 km (3,319 mi) of expressways, with 8,603 km (5,346 mi) under construction. These are controlled-access highways where entrance and exits are controlled by the use of cloverleaf or trumpet or grade separated interchanges that are incorporated into the design of the expressway and designed for maximum speed of 120 km/h, whereas National highways are flyover access or tolled, where entrance and exit is through the side of the flyover, at each intersection of highway with road, flyovers are provided to bypass the city/town/village traffic and these highways are designed for speed of 100 km/h. Some roads are not access-controlled expressways but are still named expressways, such as the Biju Expressway, these are actually state highways that are not declared by the central government as an Expressway, hence not an Expressway or National Highway.
Koilwar Bridge, at Koilwar in Bhojpur spans the Sone river. This 1.44 km long, 2-lane wide rail-cum-road bridge connects Arrah with Patna, the capital of Bihar state in India. The bridge is named after Indian academic and social reformer Prof. Abdul Bari, and is presently the oldest operational railway bridge in India standing since 04 November 1862. It is shown in the 1982 Oscar award winning film Gandhi, directed by Richard Attenborough. From 1862 to 1900, Koilwar bridge remained as the longest river bridge in India.
Vidyasagar Setu, also known as the Second Hooghly Bridge, is a toll bridge over the Hooghly River in West Bengal, India, linking the cities of Kolkata and Howrah.
The Zuari Bridge is a bridge between North Goa and South Goa, India. It carries the NH 66 over the tidal part of the Zuari River, between the villages of Agaçaim and Cortalim. It is a few metres downstream of the Konkan Railway Bridge.
Kollam Bypass is a part of NH 66 that bypasses CBD of Kollam city in Kerala, India. The busy 13.141 km long bypass starts at Mevaram in the south to Kavanad in the north, via Ayathil, Kallumthazham, Kadavoor and Kureepuzha in Kollam city. It is a joint venture between the central and state government. It was inaugurated on 15 January 2019 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Arrah–Chhapra Bridge is the longest multi-span extradosed bridge in the world with a main bridge length of 1,920 m (6,300 ft). The bridge crosses over the Ganges River in India, connecting Arrah in Bhojpur district to Chhapra in Saran district of Bihar state. The bridge provides a roadway link between the northern and southern parts of Bihar. The bridge opened for public use on 11 June 2017.
Delhi–Meerut Expressway or National Expressway 3 is India's widest 96 km long controlled-access expressway, connecting Delhi with Meerut via Dasna in Ghaziabad in India. The 8 lanes old stretch of National Highway 9 (NH-9) up to Dasna is widened to 14 lanes. The fourth phase of the expressway is built on a new alignment from Dasna to Meerut – a six-lane stretch joining Meerut bypass. The 28 km (17 mi) stretch between Nizamuddin Bridge and Dasna is one of the most congested areas in the NCR. The total project cost is estimated to be between ₹8,000–10,000 crores.
The Atal Setu is a cable-stayed bridge in Goa that runs between Panaji and Porvorim. It carries National Highway 66 over the tidal part of the Mandovi River. It is 5.1 kilometres (3.2 mi) long, making it the third longest cable-stayed bridge in India. Two wheelers, three wheelers and bullock carts are prohibited from using the Atal Setu due to its height of 30 metres (98 ft). It officially opened on 5 February 2019.
The Delhi–Mumbai Expressway is a 1,350 km long, 8-lane wide under-construction access-controlled expressway connecting India's national capital New Delhi to its financial capital Mumbai. The foundation stone for the project was laid by union minister Nitin Gadkari in the presence of Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley on 8 March 2019. The total project value including the land acquisition cost is around ₹1,00,000 crores. An additional 31 km long spur will also be constructed by the NHAI from Noida International Airport in Jewar to Sector-65, Faridabad on this expressway.
The Mandovi bridge is a set of two bridges. It carries four lanes over the Mandovi river. It was Russian in design and the first to be used in this country. The first Mandovi bridge was built in 1971 and the second one in 1998.
New Koilwar Bridge, at Koilwar in Bhojpur is a 1.52 km long, 6-lane wide road bridge over the Sone river. It connects Arrah with Patna, the capital of Bihar state in India and also carries Buxar-Arrah-Patna national highway (NH-922). New Koilwar Bridge is named after Indian mathematician and Padma Shri awardee Vashishtha Narayan Singh (1946-2019). New Koilwar Bridge is 500 metres north and parallel to the existing 2-lane wide Koilwar Bridge. The construction work of all 6-lanes completed and Bridge is fully opened to public on 14 May 2022.
The Sudarshan Setu, formerly known as Okha–Beyt Dwarka Signature Bridge is a cable-stayed bridge in India, connecting the Beyt Dwarka island in the Gulf of Kutch and Okha. The total length of the bridge is 2,320 metres (7,612 ft). It was inaugurated on 25 February 2024.
