FCC

New method to measure highway construction may be introduced

2024-05-06

A new method to measure highway construction may be introduced in India. The government is looking to modify its measuring method from ‘road km’ to ‘lane km’ from this financial year.

This is part of India's shifting focus to building more expressways and roads that have at least four lanes. To make comparison with earlier data easier, construction details of earlier years may be converted to lane km.

The current method treats both a single km of a six-lane road and a two-lane road as equal. So, current norms may soon lose relevance. Similarly, railways also measure track laying and electrification in terms of route km.

A big controversy had erupted last year when the CAG, in its report, highlighted the "very high" civil construction cost of the 29-km Dwarka expressway.

It was noted that the average cost per km was Rs.2.51 billion while the government had only approved Rs.182 million for the same. The highway ministry pointed out that the total lane km stretch, including elevated and underground structures, was 563 lane km.