Roads: Introduction, Importance, and Achievements

Introduction 

Roads make a crucial contribution to economic development and growth and bring important social benefits. They are of vital importance in order to make a nation grow and develop. 

In addition, providing access to employment, social, health, and education services make a road network crucial in fighting against poverty. Roads open up more areas and stimulate economic and social development. 

For those reasons, road infrastructure is the most important of all public assets. 

Road transport: 

Road transportation is considered to be one of the most cost-effective and preferred modes of transport, both for freight and passengers. Infiltration into populated areas. Therefore, it is crucial for the socialist integration and economic development of the country. With a share of 4.5% in India's GDP in 2005-06, road transport has emerged as India's dominant transport segment. There is about 87% traffic movement in the road transport sector and 60% in the freight transport sector. Road transportation offers convenience, adaptability to individual needs, and cost savings. Besides feeder services to railways, shipping, and aircraft, road transport also serves as an alternative mode of transportation.

As well as regulating road transport in the country, the Road Transport Wing of the Ministry arranges for the movement of vehicular traffic between neighboring countries. Road Transport Wing's most challenging and important task is to improve road safety in the country.

In order to minimize road accidents, this ministry formulates policies for road safety. It develops and manages important schemes, such as publicity programs, the National Highway Accident Relief Service Scheme (NHARSS), refresher training programs for heavy vehicle drivers in the unorganized sector, and providing road safety equipment to states and territories. Five working groups have been formed under the Ministry of Transportation to address the four E's of road safety: To deliberate on short- and long-term measures for curbing road accidents, the committee will discuss in detail: (i) Education (ii) Enforcement (iii) Engineering (roads and vehicles) and (iv) Emergency care. They will then present recommendations.


Acts / Rules being administered in RT Wing :

SRTCs and motor vehicles are governed by the following laws and rules administered by the Road Transport Wing of the Ministry:-
Motor Vehicles Act, 1988
Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989
Road Transport Corporations Act, 1950
Carriage by Road Act, 2007 (enacted to repeal Carriers Act, 1865) effective from 01.3.2011
Carriage by Road Rules, 2011 notified on 28.02.2011 and effective from 01.03.2011

Achievements

• About 1,41,190 km of NHS have been mapped using GIS on the PM Gati Shakti NMP Portal.*
• As of 2020-21, the pace of highway construction has increased threefold from 12 km/day in 2013-14 to 37 km/day.
• Since April 2014, the length of NHS has increased by more than 50% from 91,287 km to around 1,41,000 km.
• The Indian Book of Records has awarded PNC Infratech Ltd with certificates for the creation of the record for the highest quantity of bituminous mix laid in 100 hours for road construction.
• NH 333B in Munger, Bihar is inaugurated with a 14.5 km long railroad bridge over the Ganga River, costing INR 696 crore, linking every city and village in Bihar.
• For the transportation and milling of agricultural commodities, 16 national highway projects worth INR 2,460 crore have been inaugurated in Jalgaon, Maharashtra.
• The Dhule and Nandurbar National Highways projects are inaugurated to assist in the development of the Dhule and Nandurbar districts as well as provide new employment opportunities.
• The first e-vehicle-friendly highway in the country, the Delhi-Chandigarh highway has been successfully commissioned with 20 e-vehicles.le charging stations. BHEL develops solar-based EV chargers.
• There are 15 national highway projects in Bihar with a total cost of INR 13,585 crore that are inaugurated. By reducing the time it takes to cross Mahatma Gandhi Setu to 5 to 10 minutes, traffic in the city has been reduced.
• NHAI makes a new Guinness World Record by laying 75 km of bituminous concrete on NH53 in 105 hours and 33 minutes.
• On NH-76 of the East-West Corridor in Rajasthan, a Cable-Stayed Bridge will be constructed and maintained across River Chambal on Kota Bypass.
• To connect the port and city, the first six-lane highway road was made from steel slag at Surat, Gujarat.
• New Delhi's Pragati Maidan Integrated Transit Corridor Project includes a tunnel and five underpasses to upgrade Pragati Maidan for the 21st century.
• The construction of Nagpur's longest double-decker viaduct (3.14 km) supported on single-column piers set a world record.
• NH projects worth INR 2300 crore have been inaugurated and laid by Nitin Gadkari in Indore, Madhya Pradesh.

Why roads are important?

1. Roads play a very important role in the transportation of goods and passengers for short and medium distances.

2. Roads can negotiate high gradients and sharp turns which railways cannot do. As such, roads can be constructed in hilly areas also.

3. Road transport system establishes easy contact between farms, fields, factories, and markets and provides door-to-door service.

4. It is comparatively easy and cheap to construct and maintain roads.

5. Road transport is more flexible than railway transport. 

6. Perishable commodities like vegetables, fruits, and milk are transported more easily and quickly by roads than by railways.

7. Roads act as great leaders to railways. Without good and sufficient roads, railways cannot collect sufficient produce to make their operation possible. 

8. Good road network is a key factor in providing market linkages for rural farmers. Poor road infrastructure in rural communities does not only affect the production and distribution of food. It also negatively impacts the development of rural areas.   

As a result, rural farmers are further impoverished.

Which is the longest road in the world? 

 The longest road in the world is the " Pan-American Highway" in Panama. The Pan-American Highway is a network of roads stretching across the American continents and measuring about 30,000 kilometers in total length.

Which is the longest road in India? 

National Highway 44 – It is the longest national highway in India with a length of 3,745 kilometers running from Srinagar in the north to Kanyakumari in the South.

Related: 

1. TYPES OF ROADS
2. Road Failures: Failure in the subgrade, and sub-base or Base course
3. Road development in India
   
4. Road development plans in India
5. Pavement in Roads