Safer designed hill roads with tunnels and long bridges on the anvil -NHIDCL

New Delhi/Dehradun/Guwahati September 26, 2017 National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (NHIDCL), a fully owned company of the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, Government of India will focus on safer and green designed and engineered hill roads having long bridges and tunnels instead of traditional round the hill roads .

“To ensure road safety especially in high rainfall areas in the country including Uttarakhand, Himachal and North East Government plans to incorporate latest technologies and safety features including soil and slope stabilization and roadside safety in hilly terrain infrastructure, crash barriers, intelligent traffic plans, rumble strips, use of speed governors and proper signage’s” said Mr Anand Kumar, Managing Director , National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (NHIDCL) while speaking on Safe Mobility in Hill Roads – a boon to Economic Development at the curtain raiser meet of International Road Federations (IRF) 18th World Road Meet (WRM) 2017 to be held in New Delhi from November 14-17 , 2017

“At present most of the hill roads in the country have been constructed round the hill slopes which remain cut off during heavy rains due to land slides . Construction of well engineered safe tunnels and long bridges will help in movement of traffic around the year. Apart from construction of tunnels and long bridges government is also working on use of appropriate technologies for soil and slope stabilization for building safer roads in hills. This will include use of locally available materials, growing local flora and fauna on slopes. The other measures will include training of local youth, special separate tough driving license for hill drivers, use of vehicle tracking system and development of safety code for hills” said Mr Kumar.

 “NHIDCL which has been entrusted with task of interconnecting roads in various parts of the country is currently handling about 150 projects of about 9000 km and costing about 9000 crores in 14 states in the country including Uttarakhand, Himachal and North East .

The 18th World Roads Meeting (WRM) is being organised by Geneva based International Road Federation (IRF) a global road safety body working world wide for better roads along with Union Ministry of Road transport and Highways (MoRTH).

“Given the growing demand for road infrastructure, mobility, and the increasing importance of India as a market for road infrastructure and services, India is a befitting venue for the mega event. The theme of the 18th WRM is “Safe Roads and Smart Mobility : The Engines of Economic Growth’’, and will bring together about 4000 representatives of business, industry, governments, public sector organisations, multi-lateral institutions, leaders and transport experts from the automotive, financial, road and transport infrastructure, and construction sectors; professionals, academics, consultants, infrastructure operators, contractors and manufacturers from across the world,” said Mr. K. K. Kapila, Chairman , International Road Federation , the global body working to make roads safer, sustainable, smarter across the world.

“The chosen theme for WRM – 2017 covers Safe Roads, Smart Mobility and Economic Growth; cherished aspirations across the world. As urbanization gathers pace, there is a demand for more road capacity, more traffic, congestion, pollution, traffic accidents and fatalities; all of which negatively affect our quality of life, and place a huge burden on the economy of countries. As the world’s population continues to grow, these challenges will increase in both magnitude and complexity. The WRM – 2017 will explore safe, sustainable, and smart solutions for addressing these and future challenges.” said Mr Kapila.