Highways to Run Trial Traffic Before Official Launch
· India · Times of India, Team-BHP
The Indian government is looking to allow normal traffic on new highway stretches for two to three months before they are inaugurated, so flaws such as cracks, potholes and rutting can be identified early. The trial runs would begin only after construction and safety audits are complete, a decision that emerged from a meeting reviewing the Delhi‑Mumbai Expressway chaired by Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari. Officials cited earlier cases on the Delhi‑Amritsar‑Katra expressway and a tunnel on the Dwarka Expressway where extended traffic tests were used to discover settlement and drainage problems, especially during monsoons. Tolling on a stretch typically starts after its formal opening, but in the Lucknow‑Kanpur and Dehradun expressway incidents, contractors were forced to fix defects within the defect‑liability period, with NHAI at times setting tolls to zero or suspending collection. Gadkari has instructed NHAI, contractors and consultants to raise construction quality so the pub
Why it matters
The policy aims to protect commuters from sudden road failures and to ensure that toll receipts are collected only after road quality meets standards, thereby reducing travel disruptions and financial loss for users.
Read the original report — Times of India
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