Mint Explainer | Why new norms for service roads are set to push up India’s highway project costs

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. India’s highway projects are set to become more expensive after the government mandated that service roads and slip roads must be built to the same standards as the main carriageways. The new guidelines—notified by the ministry of road transport and highways (MoRTH)—require developers to repair, strengthen or fully construct service roads before work begins on the main highways.

While the move may improve safety, durability and construction speed, it will also push up road project costs. MoRTH’s new guidelines require service roads and slip roads along national highways to follow the same design parameters as the main carriageways. Until now, there were no standard norms for service roads, resulting in thinner road surfaces and more potholes.

Under the new rules, service roads must be designed taking into account the same base traffic, traffic growth rate, vehicle damage factor and axle-load assumptions as the main highways. The minimum road surface thickness has been fixed, regardless of traffic estimates. In several cases, rigid (concrete) road surfaces have been made mandatory.

The norms will apply to new highway projects and ongoing projects where strengthening is required. The change reflects a stark reality: service roads often function as the main traffic lanes. During highway construction, repair work, lane closures or traffic surges, vehicles including heavy trucks are diverted onto service roads.

However, these roads were never designed to handle such loads, leading to rapid surface failure, potholing and safety hazards. Frequent maintenance of service roads slows the pace of construction of main highways. By strengthening service roads, the government expects fewer traffic