Roadways - Concepts - Chapter 7 Class 10 Geography - Lifelines of National Economy - Geography

Last updated at July 13, 2026 by

ROADWAYS

 

IMPORTANCE OF ROAD TRANSPORT 

  • India has the second largest road network in the world aggregating about 62.16 lakh km.
  • Roadways are becoming more important in India than railways because:
    • The construction cost of roads is much cheaper than the construction of railway lines.
    • Roads can traverse comparatively more dissected and undulating topography .
    • Roads can negotiate higher grades of slopes and can traverse mountains such as the Himalayas,
    • Road transport is affordable in the transportation of few passengers and a relatively smaller amount of products over short distances .
    • Provides door-to-door services.
    • Road transport is also used as a feeder to other modes of transport such as they provide a link between railway stations, air, and sea ports.

ACCORDING TO THEIR CAPACITY 

  • In India roads are categorized into six classes according to their capacity.

S.N

Classification of Roads 

Description

1.

Golden Quadrilateral Super Highways 

  • The government has initiated a major road Development project that would c onnect Delhi with Kolkata, Chennai, and Mumbai via six-lane Super Highways. 
  • This project includes the North-South corridors connecting Srinagar (Jammu & Kashmir) and Kanyakumari (Tamil Nadu), as well as the East-West Corridor connecting Silchar (Assam) and Porbander (Gujarat). 
  • The primary goal of these Super Highways is to shorten the time and distance between India's megacities
  • These highway projects are being implemented by the National Highway Authority of  India (NHAI)

2.

National Highways

  • National highways connect the country's most remote areas.
  • These are the primary road systems that are laid and maintained by the Central Public Works Department (CPWD). 
  • The historical Sher-Shah Suri Marg is called National Highway No.1, between Delhi and Amritsar

3. 

State Highways

  • State Highways are roads that connect a state capital to various district headquarters.
  • The State Public Works Department (PWD) builds and maintains these highways in states and union territories

4.

District Roads:

  • These roads connect the district headquarters with the other places in the districts.
  • The Zila Parishad is in charge of maintaining these roads.

5.

Other Roads

  • This category includes rural roads that connect rural areas and v illages to towns
  • These roads received special impetus under the Pradhan Mantri

Grameen Sadak Yojana.

  • Under this scheme special provision s are made to ensure that every village in the country is connected to a large town by an all-season motorable road.

6.

Border Roads

  • Border Roads Organisation is a Government of India undertaking that constructs and maintains roads along the country's borders .
  • This organization was established in 1960 to develop roads of strategic importance in the northern and northeastern border areas. 
  • These roads have increased accessibility in rough terrain locations and have contributed to the economic growth of these areas.
  • Border Road Organisation has built the World’s longest Highway tunnel-Atal Tunnel (9.02 Km).

 

  • Roads are classified into two categories according to the type of materials used for their construction 
    •   Metalled Roads :  Metalled roads can be made of cement, concrete, or even coal bitumen.
    • Unmetalled roads : unmetalled roads are mainly built of mud and are natural pathways.
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