Indian Highways

In India, the National Highways are the main long-distance roadways. They are maintained by the Central Government, and the majority are two-lane (one in each direction). They span about 58,000 km, of which 4,885 km are central-separated expressways. Indian highways comprise around 2% of the road network, but they carry nearly 40% of the total traffic. The National Highways Development Project, currently being implemented, seeks to massively expand India's highway network.

India has a vast network of National Highways. India's highways connect all the major cities and state capitals. Most highways are 2-laned. In some more developed areas it may broaden to 4 lanes, while closer to big cities, highways can even be of 8 lanes. India has the distinction of having the world's highest motorable highway, connecting Shimla to Leh in Ladakh, Kashmir.

All the highways are metalled.In most developed states the roads are devoid of potholes; however, in less developed states and in sparsely populated areas, highways are riddled with potholes. Very few of India's highways are concretised, the most notable being the Mumbai-Pune Expressway.

Highways form the economic backbone of the country. Highways have facilitated development along the route, and many towns have sprung up along major highways. Highways are dotted with local restaurants or inns popularly known as Dhabas. They are known to serve delicious local cuisine and also serve as trucker stops.

Under the former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, India launched a massive upgradation of highways called the Golden Quadrilateral Project, where the main north-south and east-west connecting corridors between the 4 metropolitan cities were concretised into 4-lane highways.

The Golden Quadrilateral boasts of some breathtaking spots and some amazing flyovers.
Some of the Busy National Highway sectors in India have been converted to 6- or 4-lane expressways – for example, Delhi-Agra, Delhi-Jaipur, Ahmedabad-Vadodara, Mumbai-Pune, Mumbai-Surat, Bangalore-Mysore, Bangalore-Chennai and Chennai-Tada. There is a bigger plan (National Highways Development Project Phase V) to convert all of the Golden Quadrilateral Highways (6000 km) to 6-lane highways/expressways) by 2012.