Current System
India has 70,934 km (44,076 mi) of national highways (NH) connecting all the major cities and state capitals as of August 2011. Most of them have two lanes. About 10,000 km (6,200 mi) have been widened to four lanes with two lanes in each direction. Only a few of NH are built with cement concrete. As of 2010, 19,064 km (11,846 mi) of NH were still single-laned roads. The government is currently working to ensure that by December 2014 the entire National Highway network consists of roads with two or more lanes.
India has the distinction of having the world's second highest-altitude motor highway— Leh-Manali Highway, connecting Shimla to Leh in Ladakh, Kashmir.
National highways form the economic backbone of the country and have often facilitated development along their routes, and many new towns have sprung up along major highways. Highways also have large numbers of small restaurants and inns (known as dhabas) along their length. They serve popular local cuisine and serve as truck stops.
Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Government of India adopted a new systematic numbering of National Highways in April 2010. The new system will indicate the direction of National Highways whether it is East-West (odd numbers) or North-South (even numbers) and also the geographical region where it is located, increasing from east to west and from north to south.
Read more about this topic: National Highway (India)
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