Government Focuses on Building Wider Highways & Expressways

Government data reveals a significant shift towards prioritizing the construction of wider highways and expressways since 2019-20, with an annual construction rate of highways with four lanes or more tripling compared to 2013-14. In 2022-23 alone, 4,635 km of four-lane and above highways were built, compared to 1,332 km in 2013-14. Over the past decade, the length of national highways with less than two lanes has decreased from 27,517 km to 14,300 km.

With a focus on reducing logistics costs, the government aims to increase the length of four-lane and above highways to 75,000 km by 2030, while converting all national highways to at least two-laned highways. This rapid pace of highway construction is supported by increased budgetary allocations, rising from ₹31,130 crore in 2013-14 to ₹2.8 lakh crore for 2024-25, along with a surge in overall investment in the sector.