Key Details
A twelve-year infrastructure review highlights how highway expansion, access-controlled expressways, and logistics-focused corridor development are reshaping India’s transport and freight landscape.
Theme | Key Takeaway |
|---|---|
Network Expansion | India’s National Highway network expanded by 61%, growing from 91,287 km in 2014 to 1,46,572 km in 2025–26. |
Construction Efficiency | Highway construction pace increased from 11.6 km/day in 2013–14 to nearly 34 km/day, reflecting faster project execution and delivery. |
Bharatmala Progress | Under Bharatmala Pariyojana, 22,590 km of highways have been completed, while contracts covering 26,425 km have been awarded against a target of 34,800 km. |
Expressway Transformation | Large access-controlled corridors such as the Delhi–Mumbai, Delhi–Meerut, Dwarka, and Bengaluru–Mysuru Expressways are reducing travel times and strengthening freight connectivity. |
Sustainable Infrastructure | The Delhi–Dehradun Economic Corridor integrates environmental safeguards, including a 12-km elevated wildlife corridor and dedicated eco-sensitive engineering measures. |
Economic Impact | Improved highway connectivity is helping reduce logistics costs, strengthen supply chains, and improve access between production centres and markets. |
Summary
Highway Expansion Continues to Drive Logistics Modernisation
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has released a comprehensive review of India’s highway infrastructure transformation between 2014 and 2026. The review highlights a shift from traditional road widening projects towards access-controlled economic corridors, expressways, and high-speed freight connectivity networksdesigned to reduce logistics costs and improve economic integration.
According to the ministry, the National Highway network expanded from about 91,287 km in 2014 to 1,46,572 km in 2026, while the pace of highway construction increased from 11.6 km per day to nearly 34 km per day. An impact assessment by IIM Bangalore cited in the review notes that improved road connectivity has helped reduce logistics bottlenecks between producers, suppliers, and markets.
Bharatmala Emerges as the Backbone of Corridor Development
A major share of this expansion has occurred through Bharatmala Pariyojana, India’s flagship highway development programme.
With an approved outlay of ₹5.35 lakh crore, Bharatmala aims to develop 34,800 km of economic corridors, border roads, feeder routes, and national connectivity infrastructure. As of March 2026, contracts covering 26,425 km had been awarded, while 22,590 km had already been completed and opened to traffic.
The programme is intended to improve freight efficiency by connecting industrial clusters, ports, logistics hubs, and consumption centres through integrated transport corridors.
Expressways Become the New Connectivity Layer
The review also highlights the growing role of access-controlled expressways in reducing travel times and improving regional mobility.
The Delhi–Mumbai Expressway, spanning 1,386 km, remains the country’s largest expressway project, with new sections becoming operational in Gujarat during June 2026.
The Delhi–Meerut Expressway has significantly improved connectivity across the National Capital Region, while the Dwarka Expressway has strengthened transport links between Delhi and Gurugram. In southern India, the Bengaluru–Mysuru Expressway has reduced travel time between the two cities from approximately three hours to around 75 minutes.
Sustainable Infrastructure Gains Greater Importance
One of the notable projects highlighted in the review is the Delhi–Dehradun Economic Corridor, inaugurated in April 2026.
The 213-km corridor reduces travel time between Delhi and Dehradun from roughly six hours to about 2.5 hours. The project also incorporates several environmental mitigation measures, including a 12-km elevated wildlife corridoracross the Rajaji National Park landscape and a tunnel section near the Daat-Kali area to minimise ecological disruption.
The project reflects an emerging approach that combines infrastructure expansion with biodiversity and wildlife protection objectives.
What is an Access-Controlled Expressway?
An access-controlled expressway is a high-speed road corridor where entry and exit are permitted only through designated interchanges. Unlike conventional highways, there are no direct roadside access points, intersections, or uncontrolled crossings.
This design improves safety, enables uninterrupted traffic movement, reduces travel time, lowers fuel consumption, and enhances freight efficiency—making expressways a key component of modern logistics systems.
Policy Relevance
The MoRTH review demonstrates how transport infrastructure is increasingly being treated as an economic productivity asset rather than merely a mobility service.
Strengthens Freight Efficiency and Industrial Connectivity: Expansion of high-speed corridors helps reduce travel times between manufacturing centres, logistics hubs, and markets, lowering overall logistics costs.
Accelerates National Economic Integration: Bharatmala’s corridor-based approach improves connectivity across regions, helping integrate production clusters with domestic and export supply chains.
Supports Sustainable Infrastructure Development: Projects such as the Delhi–Dehradun corridor demonstrate how transport expansion can be combined with wildlife conservation and ecological safeguards.
Improves Urban and Regional Mobility: Expressways around Delhi, Bengaluru, and other growth centres are reducing congestion and improving commuter productivity.
Enhances Project Delivery Capacity: Sustaining a construction pace of nearly 34 km per day reflects significant improvements in planning, contracting, and project execution systems.
Relevant Question for Stakeholders: As India expands its network of economic corridors and expressways, how can transport planners combine real-time traffic analytics, FASTag data, logistics mapping, and multimodal freight integration to ensure that future highway investments deliver both economic efficiency and environmental sustainability?
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