Now, greenfield NH arteries

The feasibility of developing a greenfield national highway will have to be examined while executing national highway projects that are to be upgraded to four-lane and above configurations and where Section 3D notification has not been issued under the National Highways Act, 1956.

The new approach to determine the alignment for widening the national highway comes even as the stage is set for issuing the 3D notification for acquiring the remaining land for developing NH 66 from Thalapadi to Kazhakuttam.

While examining the feasibility of a greenfield alignment between the origin and the destination, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has asked the States to follow a ‘crow flight’ route alignment with a little distance from the existing habitations/ towns and identify the towns that need to be connected through spurs.

In a communication to Chief Secretaries, the Chief Engineer, Planning, MoRTH, has asked them to spell out the advantages in terms of reduction in length/ distance, geometric improvements, and other advantages along with cost-benefit analysis to enable the competent authority take considered decisions.

In case the greenfield alignment option works out to be the preferred option, the executing agency should acquire the entire right of way (RoW) for 60-70 m for a maximum capacity of eight-lane main carriageway with service roads. In case of expressways, 90-m RoW will have to be acquired.

Initially, a four-lane carriageway with four-lane structures will be developed with additional land left in the median for future expansion. The highway being developed will have provision for service roads, preferably of 10-m width, with maximum access control for the main carriageway.

Access to towns/ cities/ establishments located on the existing NH will be provided through spurs from the greenfield route. The analysis is to be made an integral part of the detailed project report.

The initiative is in the wake of the hurdles faced in upgrading the brownfield projects and shift in approach with the Bharatmala Pariyojana. The upgrading of the existing road arteries to the NHs has been found suboptimal due to a host of factors, including mounting cost for land acquisition and demolition of religious structures.

A greenfield NH with a RoW of 60 to 70 m will cater to the traffic flows for the next 30 to 40 years with crow-flight road geometry, reduced distance, and savings on travel time and fuel costs. It has also been observed that in case NHs are developed along the existing alignments, the problems of traffic hazards have not been substantially resolved.