Difference Between NH, Expressway and Highway, Link Road and Peripheral Road
Understanding Indian Roads: NH, Expressways, Highways, Link & Peripheral Roads
While traveling, you must have come across terms like Highway, Expressway, NH, Link Road, Peripheral Road, etc. But have you ever thought about why we don’t just call them "roads" but distinguish them with different names?
In this blog, we will explain why these roads have different names despite serving a single purpose.
Distinctions:
• Highway
• Expressway
• National Highway (NH)
• Link road
• Peripheral road
Expressway: An expressway is used for high-speed travel, allowing cars, bikes, trucks, and buses to travel at speeds that are generally not possible on highways. Expressways have no red lights, no intersections, or any other obstacles that could slow down your speed.
They can be built within a city or between cities as well. So, generally, any road that has no red lights, intersections, and allows high-speed travel is called an expressway (e.g., Yamuna Expressway and Noida Expressway).
Highway: A highway is generally a road that connects cities and towns with each other. However, highways usually have red lights, intersections, and exits to connect different parts, whereas expressways allow for smooth travel. Highways, on the other hand, enable you to connect different parts of towns and cities.
National Highway: A National Highway is built to connect different states within a country and is typically constructed in the outer parts of states to eliminate congestion. National Highways allow for high-speed travel, similar to expressways, but they are not built within a city or as small as expressways.
They connect different states; for example, if you were traveling from Kashmir to Kanyakumari by road, you would use the National Highway. However, as soon as you enter a city, you would be on a state highway or expressway.
National Highways do not go through dense regions but instead run along the outer parts of cities to provide high-speed travel with minimal traffic congestion.
Link Road: You must have also heard about link roads in different cities. Link roads are essentially smaller roads that connect villages or regions to major roads like expressways and highways.
Since expressways and highways are often built in the center of cities to connect regions smoothly, various link roads are made to connect these regions to the expressways and highways. Link roads are like branches of a tree.
Peripheral Road or Bypass: A peripheral road is sometimes also called a bypass. It is a road designed to avoid the city’s traffic. The road typically forms a circular path around the outer region of a city or town, allowing travelers who do not want to enter the city to bypass it easily by navigating through this road.
For example, the Eastern Peripheral Expressway (EPE) and the Western Peripheral Expressway (WPE) around Delhi.
In conclusion, while all these roads serve the common purpose of facilitating travel, they differ in their design, location, and function. Expressways allow for high-speed, uninterrupted travel, highways connect cities and towns with intersections, and National Highways link states while avoiding congested areas.
Link roads connect smaller regions to major roads, and peripheral roads help bypass city traffic. Understanding these distinctions helps us navigate efficiently and makes travel smoother across different regions.
.webp)
.webp)
.webp)
