Eighteen IITs, 26 National Institutes of Technology, and 190 other reputed engineering colleges across India have agreed to collaborate with India’s national highways builder
The best brains in India’s reputed technology institutes will “adopt” national highways and work with the National Highways Authority of India in its endeavour to create a network of world class highways in the country. Eighteen IITs, 26 National Institutes of Technology, and 190 other reputed engineering colleges across India have agreed to collaborate with India’s national highways builder under an initiative wherein they adopt a stretch of national highway nearby and exchange notes with the NHAI on the latest in innovations and new technologies in making and maintaining highways. About 200 institutes have already signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). Over 300 institutes are expected to collaborate to adopt national highway (NH) stretches, the HHAI said in a statement Friday. The adopted stretches may be used as a field of study for faculty and researchers and to familiarise students with the latest trends in the industry and suggest the relevant performance parameters and innovations. Under this initiative, the partner institutes will study improvement prospects in road safety, maintenance, riding comfort, removal of choke points, black spots and usage of new technologies on the adopted stretches and give suitable suggestions to NHAI.
The institutes are also encouraged to associate with the consultants/ NHAI during conceptualisation, design and project preparation of new projects and suggest the relevant performance parameters and innovations based on experience specific to the local climate, topography and resource potential for better socio-economic outcome.
The areas of collaboration for improving the efficiency of existing highways include improvements in safety provisions and localised solutions for removal of congestion points, thereby increasing the average traffic speed
