The road sector is undergoing significant transformation due to rapid urbanisation and the growing demand for sustainable transportation networks. Over time, technology and digital solutions have emerged as crucial components, shaping the entire life cycle of Indian roads. The key milestones include the adoption of intelligent transportation systems and sustainable construction practices. In addition, road safety measures have been implemented to reduce accidents and fatalities, with stricter traffic regulations, speed cameras, driver education campaigns and advancements in vehicle safety technologies.
Trends in sustainable construction
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has taken several initiatives to promote the uptake of green technology. These include the use of waste materials, by-products and organic materials such as fly ash, slag, crumb rubber, modified bitumen, waste plastic, recycled aggregates, geosynthetics, jute and coir, and processes such as recycling, cement treated sub-base/base and soil stabilisation.
The Border Roads Organisation has carried out trials for the use of shredded plastic in bituminous road construction. It has used the technology for resurfacing the 1 km Roing-Koronu-Paya road under the Udayak project in Arunachal Pradesh, the 5.22 km Hnathial-Sangau-Saiha road under the Pushpak project in Mizoram, and the 2 km Hapoli-Sarli-Huri road under the Arunank project in Arunachal Pradesh.
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has also started trials for the use of steel slag in road construction. A 1 km long trial patch is being constructed on the Panvel-Indapur section of National Highway-66 near Mumbai, wherein 100 per cent natural aggregates are being replaced with steel slag-derived aggregates. Other notable initiatives include the use of 2 million tonnes of plastic garbage sourced from the Ghazipur landfill under the Urban Extension Road project. Earlier this year, NHAI had announced plans to use phosphor-gypsum for road projects.
Cell-filled concrete pavement, a technology developed by IIT Kharagpur, has emerged as a promising solution for overloaded vehicles, inadequate drainage facilities and waterlogging problems. This technology uses recycled plastic and reduces the consumption of aggregates to almost 50 per cent as compared to conventional cement concrete pavements, leading to considerable cost savings in construction.
In order to improve road infrastructure and mitigate the adverse effects of severe rainfall and flooding, Himachal Pradesh is set to implement full depth reclamation (FDR) technology for road construction. It involves the extensive pulverisation and blending of the entire flexible pavement section and a portion of underlying materials to create a robust, homogeneous stabilised base course. Nearly 2,682 km of roads are planned to be constructed in the state at a cost of about Rs 26.83 billion. Of this, 666 km will be constructed using FDR technology, 556 km using cement stabilisation, and the remaining 1,460 km through traditional methods.
In Tripura, nanotechnology will be used for developing rural roads to enhance their durability, particularly in regions prone to heavy rainfall.
Safety measures
Given the unprecedented number of road fatalities in India, ensuring safe mobility has become a paramount concern. MoRTH has launched the Bharat NCAP programme to promote the sale of safer cars. Under this initiative, vehicles will be rated on a scale of 1 to 5 after evaluating them on three parameters: adult occupant protection, child occupant protection and safety assist technologies. Recently, the ministry also constructed a 200 metre bamboo crash barrier on Maharashtra’s Vani-Warora highway.
In Nagpur city, the Intelligent Solutions for Road Safety through Technology and Engineering (iRASTE) project is enabling the implementation of an innovative artificial intelligence (AI) approach to detect possible situations that could lead to accidents during vehicle operation and notify operators through the advanced driver assistance system. Moreover, it will identify “grey spots” on the road. The system continuously monitors dynamic risks on the entire road network through data and mobility analysis. This information is then used to design engineering solutions for preventive maintenance and improved road infrastructure.
Additionally, NHAI has deployed GPS to extract data on pavement conditions, assess asset inventory and evaluate various functional parameters including riding quality, speed, accident potential, black spots, access control status, geometrics and traffic information systems.
NHAI is also implementing an advanced traffic management system on national highways and expressways to manage incidents of road crashes and enforce speed limits. As of October 2023, the system has been enhanced with newly introduced video incident detection and enforcement system (VIDES) to prioritise the digital enforcement of traffic rules. The vehicle speed detection system (VSDS) has also been integrated with VIDES, optimising the use of automatic number plate recognition cameras.
India aims to significantly reduce road accidents by 2030 through the adoption of technology-enabled mobility solutions that are affordable, accessible, inclusive and safe. To this end, Netradyne, a technology solutions provider, aims to provide comprehensive and proactive tools through the application of AI and machine learning to enhance driver conduct, encourage conscientious driving and ultimately save lives. To achieve this, the firm has implemented Driver-i, an AI approach to monitor driver behaviour and identify potential risks. The AI algorithm is also capable of identifying a wide range of critical occurrences, including distracted driving, abrupt lane changes, excessive speeding and harsh braking.
Operations and maintenance
Greater attention to the operations and maintenance (O&M) of road assets is essential, particularly considering that
India has the second largest road network in the world, presenting significant opportunities for O&M. Further, the increasing volume of traffic on highways underscores the need for prompt O&M practices to prevent pavement deterioration.
Over the years, NHAI has consistently demonstrated a proactive approach in devising strategies for the O&M of road assets. In line with this, network survey vehicles are employed to conduct highway mapping via LiDAR technology. Advanced survey techniques, such as high resolution digital cameras for comprehensive imagery, laser road profilometers and other relevant technologies for measuring distress on road surfaces, are also being used. Drone videography is now a common practice to record the construction and O&M of all national highways.
Kerala’s Public Works Department (PWD) has successfully digitalised 31,000 km of the road network by implementing iROADS, a road asset management programme. This initiative also involves the collection and storage of inventory and condition data for all roads, bridges and culverts. The iROADS system allows the PWD to transition to a systematic approach for road development and maintenance schemes based on traffic, road condition and climate information, paving the way for a safer and more resilient road network.
The way forward
The digital roadmap entails greater utilisation of drones, GIS mapping, and satellite imagery for project planning, monitoring and implementation. It envisions smart highways equipped with smart lighting, variable LED message signage, adaptive traffic control systems, speed limit enforcers, lane driving systems and wayside amenities with EV charging facilities.
Going forward, some road maintenance practices that require greater attention are drain cleaning before and during the monsoon, construction of rain cuts to drain stagnant water on shoulders, and timely maintenance of potholes and patch repairs. In addition, a key focus area will be designing roads with climate resilience to withstand flooding, heatwaves and severe rainfall.
Further, the National Rural Infrastructure Development Agency has announced plans to build 50,000 km of rural roads with an emphasis on the use of green technologies by 2030, thereby facilitating the ongoing sustainability journey.
