Even as India is in the middle of a massive highway upgradation exercise for ensuring good connectivity across the country, a plan that could help you drive down to Tokyo or Istanbul or further across the Europe is in the offing.

Known as the Asian Highway network, the 1,40,000 km long ambitious inter-regional connectivity project being implemented under the aegis of the United Nations Economic & Social Commission for the Asia Pacific (UNESCAP) has 11,650 kilometres falling in Indian territory.

While the AH 1 enters India at the Indo-Pak border at Wagah and passes via Delhi to Kolkata and enters Myanmar from Dawki in Meghalaya, the AH 2, also entering from Wagah border, will go to Nepal via Delhi and then re-enter India in West Bengal and terminate at Bangladesh. There are also five other sub-divisional AH routes in India. Recently, the Cabinet approved the extension of AH-48 from Thimpu-Phuentsholing (Bhutan) to Jaigaon at West Bengal in India.

In fact, four categories of roads have been prescribed under the Asian Highway network — the Primary Expressways, Class I four-lane highways, Class II two-lane highways that are 7-metre wide and Class III two-lane highways that are 6-metre wide.

“UNESCAP has not really said that all roads have to be of Class I category as every nation has its constraints. Infact, we are also readying to put up international signage across the AH network as has been directed by UNESCAP,” said a senior official. The Ministry of Shipping, Road Transport & Highways is all set to start installation of international state-of-the art signage.

... contd.