India's All Single-Lane National Highways To Become Double, Road Ministry's Plan To Fulfill NH Tag Criteria

The road ministry is planning to convert all existing single-lane national highways into double lanes, with the new criterion requiring two lanes with paved shoulders for a highway to be tagged as National Highway (NH) in the future.

This criterion will be outlined in the rules governing the construction of national highways, according to a report from Livemint.

A paved shoulder is part of a highway that is adjacent to the regularly travelled portion and is at the same level.

However, single-lane national highways may continue in hilly regions.

Expanding them would be considered only after an environmental impact assessment, and only if the project can be carried out with limited damage to fragile mountain ecosystems, according to officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

According to the same report, Road Ministry Secretary Anurag Jain had previously stated that the changes in the highway criterion were being formulated to ensure that such alignments meet today's mobility needs.