NHAI to develop 57 model stretches as national highways

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has plans to develop 57 highway stretches near each state capital to serve as model national highways. These model stretches, totalling 1,735 km, will also serve as a platform to instruct highway engineers in the country, including state PWD engineers. These model stretches will have all the required safety and aesthetic features such as road signs, road markings, road furniture and safety items, proper junctions and entries/exits. Other features include functional drains, pedestrian facilities, street lighting, plantation and landscaping, elegant toll plazas, user facilities and wayside amenities, CCTV cameras at all vulnerable locations, no black spots to avoid accidents, and eco-friendly measures. Some of the national highway sections identified for development are the Varanasi Ring Road; Chennai Bypass; Dausa-Jaipur; Jalandhar-Amritsar; Srinagar-Banihal; Madhya Pradesh-Maharashtra border-Nagpur (including Nagpur Bypass); and Brahmaputra Bridge-Guwahati stretches.