The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways is devising a plan to upgrade all current single-lane national highways to double lanes, introducing a new standard where highways must have two lanes with paved shoulders to qualify as National Highways (NH) going forward. This forthcoming criterion is expected to be incorporated into the regulations governing national highway construction, as reported by Livemint.
Paved shoulders, which are sections of a highway adjacent to the main traveled area and at the same elevation, will be a requisite feature under this new guideline.
Exceptions to this mandate may be made for single-lane national highways in mountainous regions, where the challenging terrain necessitates a different approach. Any expansion plans for such highways would be subject to an environmental impact assessment to minimize harm to delicate mountain ecosystems. These decisions are reportedly being discussed by officials who prefer to remain anonymous.
Road Ministry Secretary Anurag Jain had previously highlighted the need for updating highway criteria to better meet contemporary transportation demands, as stated in the same Livemint report.
