414-km National Highway in Assam still less than two lanes

Staff Reporter

Guwahati: It is a matter of almost sheer disbelief that Assam still has 2,735 km of National Highway (NH) that are two-lane and 414 km that are even less than two-lane. From this statistic, it can be discerned that Assam has a long way to go in terms of roads (National Highway), which should be at least four-lane for a smoother flow of vehicular traffic.

The above statistic was revealed by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) recently.

According to available information, the total length of NH in the state of Assam is 4077 km. Of this, a length of just 14 km is more than four-lane, and 914 km is four-lane. The 14-kilometre stretch of more than four lanes is the stretch of NH comprising the Guwahati bypass road. Work on this stretch is going on, and it is expected that it will be completed by the middle of this year. The stretch is under the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI).

As per the MoRTH, 414 km of NH in Assam is less than two-lane and 2735 km is two-lane.

However, National Highways Infrastructure and Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL) is currently involved in the development and widening of 975 km of NH to four lanes. The work has been divided into 43 packages. The stretch of NH from Jorhat to Dibrugarh, which has become a major cause of concern due to the snail’s pace of work, is comprised within these 43 packages.

It should be noted that there are a total of nine toll gates currently operational in the state of Assam. All the toll gates in Assam are set up as per the National Highways Fee (Determination of Rates and Collection) Rules, 2008.

The nine toll gates are: Patgaon Toll Plaza in the Kokrajhar district; Dahalpara Toll Plaza in the Bongaigaon district; Galia Toll Plaza in the Nalbari district; Madanpur Toll Plaza in the Kamrup district; Nazirakhat Toll Plaza in the Kamrup (Metro) district; Raha Toll Plaza in the Nagaon district; Mikirati-Hawgaon Toll Plaza in the Hojai district; Manderdisa Toll Plaza in the Dima Hasao district; and Balachera Toll Plaza in the Cachar district.

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