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[[File:HIghway Chennai Bangalore.jpg|right|thumb|250px|A section of the Golden Quadrilateral highway from Chennai – Mumbai phase]]
[[File:HIghway Chennai Bangalore.jpg|right|thumb|250px|A section of the Golden Quadrilateral highway from Chennai – Mumbai phase]]
The '''Golden Quadrilateral''' is a highway network in India connecting [[Delhi]], [[Mumbai]], [[Kolkata]] and [[Chennai]], thus forming a [[quadrilateral]] of sorts. The largest [[highway]] project in India, initiated by [[Atal Bihari Vajpayee]], it is the first phase of the [[National Highways Development Project]] (NHDP), and consists of building {{convert|5846|km|mi|abbr=on}} of four/six lane express highways at a cost of {{INRConvert|60000|c|1}}.<ref>[http://www.nhai.org/roadnetwork.htm] Road network-Source-The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI)</ref> {{Asof|2008}}, while the Golden Quadrilateral makes up under 2 percent of India's road network, it carries about 40% of the country's traffic and accounts for one-third of its traffic deaths.<ref>Ullrich, Christy. "[http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/geopedia/India_Highway India's Golden Quadrilateral]", ''[[National Geographic]]'', Sep 15, 2008. ''Though the GQ makes up less than 2 percent of India's road network, it carries about 40 percent of the country's traffic and accounts for one-third of its traffic fatalities.''</ref>
The '''Golden Quadrilateral''' is a highway network in India connecting [[Delhi]], [[Mumbai]], [[Chennai]] and [[Kolkata]], thus forming a [[quadrilateral]] of sorts. The largest [[highway]] project in India, initiated by [[Atal Bihari Vajpayee]], it is the first phase of the [[National Highways Development Project]] (NHDP), and consists of building {{convert|5846|km|mi|abbr=on}} of four/six lane express highways at a cost of {{INRConvert|60000|c|1}}.<ref>[http://www.nhai.org/roadnetwork.htm] Road network-Source-The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI)</ref> {{Asof|2008}}, while the Golden Quadrilateral makes up under 2 percent of India's road network, it carries about 40% of the country's traffic and accounts for one-third of its traffic deaths.<ref>Ullrich, Christy. "[http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/geopedia/India_Highway India's Golden Quadrilateral]", ''[[National Geographic]]'', Sep 15, 2008. ''Though the GQ makes up less than 2 percent of India's road network, it carries about 40 percent of the country's traffic and accounts for one-third of its traffic fatalities.''</ref>


The vast majority of the Golden Quadrilateral (GQ) is not [[Limited-access road|access controlled]], although safety features such as guardrails, shoulders, and high-visibility signs are used. As of 31 October 2010, {{convert|5806|km|mi|abbr=on}} of the entire work has been completed and work on remaining 40&nbsp;km is under progress.<ref name="nhai_progress">{{cite web|url=http://www.nhai.org/gqmain_english.htm|title=National Highways Development Project Map|publisher=National Highways Institute of India}}</ref> In September 2009, it was announced that the existing four-laned highways would be converted into six-lane highways.<ref name="nh_expansion">{{cite news|url=http://www.forbes.com/2009/09/21/india-ambassador-shankar-business-emerging-markets-economy.html|title=Ambassador: Indian Economy Will Grow|author=Megha Bahree|publisher=Forbes|date=September 21, 2009}}</ref> The project was reported at various stages to be behind schedule mainly due to land acquisition constraints and disputes with contractors which had to be re-negotiated.<ref name="financialexpress">{{cite web|url=http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=100459|title=Golden Quadrilateral still has miles to go|publisher=Financial Express}}</ref><ref name="forbes_india">{{cite web|url=http://business.in.com/article/briefing/crossing-the-chasm/4202/1|author=R.N. Bhaskar|publisher=Forbes India|title=Crossing the chasm}}</ref>
The vast majority of the Golden Quadrilateral (GQ) is not [[Limited-access road|access controlled]], although safety features such as guardrails, shoulders, and high-visibility signs are used. As of 31 October 2010, {{convert|5806|km|mi|abbr=on}} of the entire work has been completed and work on remaining 40&nbsp;km is under progress.<ref name="nhai_progress">{{cite web|url=http://www.nhai.org/gqmain_english.htm|title=National Highways Development Project Map|publisher=National Highways Institute of India}}</ref> In September 2009, it was announced that the existing four-laned highways would be converted into six-lane highways.<ref name="nh_expansion">{{cite news|url=http://www.forbes.com/2009/09/21/india-ambassador-shankar-business-emerging-markets-economy.html|title=Ambassador: Indian Economy Will Grow|author=Megha Bahree|publisher=Forbes|date=September 21, 2009}}</ref> The project was reported at various stages to be behind schedule mainly due to land acquisition constraints and disputes with contractors which had to be re-negotiated.<ref name="financialexpress">{{cite web|url=http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=100459|title=Golden Quadrilateral still has miles to go|publisher=Financial Express}}</ref><ref name="forbes_india">{{cite web|url=http://business.in.com/article/briefing/crossing-the-chasm/4202/1|author=R.N. Bhaskar|publisher=Forbes India|title=Crossing the chasm}}</ref>

Revision as of 19:54, 6 January 2011

Golden Quadrilateral
Highway map of India with the Golden Quadrilateral highlighted in solid blue color
Route information
Maintained by NHAI
Length5,846 km (3,633 mi)
Delhi – Kolkata
Length1,453 km (903 mi)
Major intersectionsNH 2
Delhi – Mumbai
Length1,419 km (882 mi)
Major intersectionsNH 8, NH 79A, NH 79, NH 76
Mumbai – Chennai
Length1,290 km (800 mi)
Major intersectionsNH 4, NH 7, NH 46
Kolkata – Chennai
Length1,684 km (1,046 mi)
Major intersectionsNH 6, NH 60, NH 5
Location
CountryIndia
Highway system
A section of the Golden Quadrilateral highway from Chennai – Mumbai phase

The Golden Quadrilateral is a highway network in India connecting Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata, thus forming a quadrilateral of sorts. The largest highway project in India, initiated by Atal Bihari Vajpayee, it is the first phase of the National Highways Development Project (NHDP), and consists of building 5,846 km (3,633 mi) of four/six lane express highways at a cost of ₹60,000 crore (US$7.2 billion).[1] As of 2008, while the Golden Quadrilateral makes up under 2 percent of India's road network, it carries about 40% of the country's traffic and accounts for one-third of its traffic deaths.[2]

The vast majority of the Golden Quadrilateral (GQ) is not access controlled, although safety features such as guardrails, shoulders, and high-visibility signs are used. As of 31 October 2010, 5,806 km (3,608 mi) of the entire work has been completed and work on remaining 40 km is under progress.[3] In September 2009, it was announced that the existing four-laned highways would be converted into six-lane highways.[4] The project was reported at various stages to be behind schedule mainly due to land acquisition constraints and disputes with contractors which had to be re-negotiated.[5][6]

The GQ project is managed by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) under the Ministry of Road, Transport and Highways. The Mumbai-Pune Expressway, the first controlled-access toll road to be built in India is a part of the GQ Project though not funded by NHAI, and separate from the main highway. Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS) has been one of the major contributors to the infrastructural development activity in the GQ project.

Economic benefits

The GQ project establishes better and faster transport networks between many major cities and ports. It provides an impetus to smoother movement of products and people within India. It enables industrial and job development in smaller towns through access to markets. It provides opportunities for farmers through better transportation of produce from the agricultural hinterland to major cities and ports for export, through lesser wastage and spoils. Finally, it drives economic growth directly through construction as well as through indirect demand for cement, steel and other construction materials.It gives an impetus to Truck transport throughout India.

Route

Only National Highways are used in the Golden Quadrilateral. The four legs use the following National Highways:

Important Cities

Delhi – Kolkata Delhi – Mumbai Chennai – Mumbai Kolkata – Chennai

Current status

No. Segment Length Completed (km) Total Length (km) Percent Completed (%) As of (date) Source
1. Delhi-Kolkata 1,452.3 km (902.4 mi) 1,453 km (903 mi) 99.95 June 30, 2010 [7]
2. Chennai-Mumbai 1,288 km (800 mi) 1,290 km (800 mi) 99.87 June 30, 2010 [8]
3. Kolkata-Chennai 1,633 km (1,015 mi) 1,684 km (1,046 mi) 96.99 June 30, 2010 [9]
4. Mumbai-Delhi 1,419 km (882 mi) 1,419 km (882 mi) 100 Nov 2006 [10]
Total 5,793 km (3,600 mi) 5,846 km (3,633 mi) 99.09 June 30, 2010 [11]

NHAI - Current status

The length of Golden Quadrilateral in each State

The completed Golden Quadrilateral will pass through 13 States of India:

Future plans

Sections of NH 2, NH 5 and NH 8 have now been prioritized for further widening to six lanes under DBFO (Design, Build, Finance, Operate) pattern and more sections would be six-laned in the near future. On NH 8 Six lanes work is completed from Vadodara to Surat and now the highway is 6-track

Corruption allegations

Main article: Satyendra Dubey

In August 2003, Jharkhand-based project director Satyendra Dubey, in a letter to the Prime Minister, outlined a list of malafide actions in a segment of this highway in Bihar. Dubey's claims included that big contractors had inside information from NHAI officials,[7] that the contractors for this stretch were not executing the project themselves (as stipulated in the contract) but subcontracting the work small builders who lacked technical expertise[7] and that no follow-up was performed after awarding advances.[7] Dubey's name was leaked by the PMO to the NHAI,[7] and he was transferred against his wishes to Gaya, Bihar, where he was murdered on November 27.[7]

The NHAI eventually admitted that Dubey's charges were substantiated, and implemented "radical reforms" in selection and contract procedures.[8] After a lengthy CBI investigation, Mantu Kumar and three accomplices were arrested and charged with murder. Mantu escaped from court on September 19, 2005,[9] but was recaptured a month later. In 2010, Mantu and two others were convicted murder and other offenses and sentenced to life in prison.[10]

Accidents

In February 2006, a 600 meter stretch of the highway connecting Kolkata to Chennai subsided into the ground, opening up ten meter gorges near Bally, West Bengal.[11] This stretch had been completed a year back by a Malaysian multinational firm, selected after global tendering.[citation needed]

See also

Further reading

  1. ^ [1] Road network-Source-The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI)
  2. ^ Ullrich, Christy. "India's Golden Quadrilateral", National Geographic, Sep 15, 2008. Though the GQ makes up less than 2 percent of India's road network, it carries about 40 percent of the country's traffic and accounts for one-third of its traffic fatalities.
  3. ^ "National Highways Development Project Map". National Highways Institute of India.
  4. ^ Megha Bahree (September 21, 2009). "Ambassador: Indian Economy Will Grow". Forbes.
  5. ^ "Golden Quadrilateral still has miles to go". Financial Express.
  6. ^ R.N. Bhaskar. "Crossing the chasm". Forbes India.
  7. ^ a b c d e [2] Bihar govt wakes up to IITian's murder-Source-Rediff News
  8. ^ [3] NHAI report to CBI proves Dubey right, contract rules being rewritten-Source-Indian Express
  9. ^ [4] Whistleblower in the 2004 National Highway Authority of India case escaped from police custody on Tuesday in Patna-Source-Rediff News
  10. ^ [5] Satyendranath Dubey killers get life imprisonment-Source-Oneindia.com
  11. ^ [6] GQ: Howrah highway stretch caves in-Source-Indian Express]

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