Highways to be made fit for high-speed vehicles! U-turns and side entries to be barred

At least 20,000 km of major national highways in India will be free from frequent cuts on the medians in the coming four to five years, with barricading for stray animals so that they can be prevented from coming on to the high-speed roads.

Fast moving and heavy vehicles will be designated the main carriageways, which would make sure that these vehicles can run seamlessly and at high speed.

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The project, which falls under the first phase of the ambitious Bharatmala scheme will cost around Rs 3.85 lakh crore and would also include expansion of identified stretches to at least four lanes.

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Presently, almost every type vehicles, be it fast-moving trucks or slow-moving cycle-rickshaws, can enter highways, thereby slowing down the speeds and defying the whole purpose of highways that are meant for less accidents.

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The government has now decided to make existing highways more efficient instead of building more expensive greenfield roads, and it’s for this purpose that the road transport and highways ministry has sent the proposal to upgrade the identified stretches as "access controlled" ones. Such access controlled roads limit the kind of vehicles that can ply on them.

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