This is how National Highways are numbered in India!
Highways used to be numbered based on the National Highways Act of 1956, but didn"t give indication of its location or direction, hence, a new system of numbering them was brought into place.
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- Kinjal Yogesh Dixit
Has anyone actually wondered how the highways in India are numbered? This question may seem minute, but when thought about, is actually interesting and very well thought through. So, today’s topic is just that, how exactly are the National Highways in India numbered? Let’s find out. At 62,15,797 kms, India has the world’s second largest network in the entire world! Out of this, 151,000 kms are dedicated to national highways, and 186, 528 kms are those of the state highways. The rest of the length is constituted of District, Rural, Urban and Project roads.
All of the National Highways are essentially constructed and managed by the National Highway Authority if India (NHAI). Up until 2010, all National Highways used to be numbered based on the National Highways Act of 1956.
However, the then existing number of National Highways did not give any indication of its location and direction. Hence, a new system of numbering the National Highways was brought into place.
Here is how they are numbered now: All of the highways running in the East-West direction have odd numbers. For example – the highway Punjab to Uttarakhand is numbered NH7. Also, for the odd-numbered the numbers are arranged in an increasing or the ascending order from the North to South. Namely, the Highway NH1 runs in Jammu and Kashmir, while the NH11 is in Rajasthan.
Also, all of the highways which run in the North-South direction have even numbers. Such as, NH44 running from Srinagar to Kanyakumari – even numbered. When it comes to even-numbered highways, the numbers are arranged in an increasing or the ascending order from the East to West. Like the NH2 runs from Assam to Mizoram and the NH12 runs in West Bengal.
Now let us take a look at how the branches of the Highways are numbered: The branches of these National Highways are denoted by three-digit numbers. Like the branches of the NH44 are 144, 244, 344, and so on. The odd first digit (144), denotes the east-west directions of highways. The even first digit (244) denotes the north-south directions of highways. Branches of the subsidiary highways are numbered by placing an alphabet – A, B, C, or D in the three-digit number; like the 344A, 344B.
The NH44 is the longest National Highway in India, running from Srinagar in Jammu Kashmir, to Tamil Nadu. At 3,745 kms long, the NH44 also passes through Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka – a total of 12 states!
Note: The new numbering does not mean simply changing the old number with a new number i.e NH-39 changed to NH-2. The New System involves re-alignment of roads by connecting old NHs and joining new constructions to make a NH run either East-West or North-South.
It was a minor news item in most dailies back then, but it is as a huge step towards rationalizing our road network names along with rebuilding the infrastructure. The national road grid in India has been getting a good boost ever since National highway development project (NHDP) started materializing in stages.
Presenting the Budget 2022, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has announced that under the PM Gati Shakti master plan, the government will expand the National Highway network by 25,000 kms in between 2022-23.
She had also announced that the PM Gati Shakti masterplan for the road transport will be finalised in 2022-23. The Economic Survey on January 31 said, the extent and quality of infrastructure determine the ability of a country to utilize its comparative advantage and enable cost competitiveness.
Having said that, the survey reveals a consistent increase in the construction of National Highways / roads since 2013-14, with 13,327 kms constructed in 2020-21 as compared to 10,237 kms in 2019-20.
"There has been a consistent increase in the construction of National Highways / roads since 2013-14 with 13,327 kms of roads constructed in 2020-21 as compared to 10,237 kms in 2019-20, indicating an increase of 30.2 percent over the previous year," it further said. According to the Survey, the significant upturn in road construction in 2020-21 was due to the increase in public expenditure by 29.5 percent as compared to the previous year.