Roads are an essential part of the transportation system of any nation. They are the most efficient and most widely used means of transportation. India is known for having the second largest road network in the world. It connects all parts of India and makes them easily accessible for people. The total length of India’s road network is 5.89 Million Kilometers.
Expressways and National Highways are an essential part of this network. They are the most commonly used terms when talking about roads. Both of them are constructed to make road transportation fast and efficient. Although they often seem similar to the public, there is a slight difference between them.
National highways are roads that connect all major cities of India. It is built with concrete and charcoal and has two or more lanes. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways own them. The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) manages them, the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation (NHIDCL), and public works departments (PWDs) of state governments.
India has 599 National Highways and covers 1,32,500 km in length. On the other hand, expressways are specially planned roads made with great precision to control high-speed traffic. They are the highest class of roads in India. It contains six to eight lanes and is equipped with other hi-tech features like Highway Traffic Management System and Video Incident Detection System.
List of Expressways in India
| S. No. | Name | Length |
| 1 | Purvanchal Expressway | 340.8 Km |
| 2 | Agra – Lucknow Expressway | 302.2 Km |
| 3 | Yamuna Expressway | 165.5 Km |
| 4 | Allahabad Bypass Expressway | 84.7 Km |
| 5 | Outer Ring Road, Hyderabad | 158 Km |
| 6 | Western Peripheral Expressway | 135.6 Km |
| 7 | Eastern Peripheral Expressway | 135 Km |
| 8 | Delhi – Meerut Expressway | 96 Km |
| 9 | Mumbai – Pune Expressway | 94.5 Km |
| 10 | Ahmedabad Vadodara Expressway | 93.1 Km |
| 11 | Jaipur Kishangarh Expressway | 90 Km |
| 12 | Chennai Bypass | 32 Km |
| 13 | Delhi – Gurugram Expressway | 27.7 Km |
| 14 | Noida – Greater Noida Expressway | 24.5 Km |
| 15 | Outer Ring Road, Ranchi | 25.4 Km |
| 16 | Sohna Elevated Corridor | 21.65 Km |
| 17 | Loknayak Ganga Path Phase I | 20.5 Km |
| 18 | Belghoria Expressway | 16 Km |
| 19 | Raipur – Naya Raipur Expressway | 12 Km |
| 20 | P.V Narsimha Rao Expressway | 11.6 Km |
| 21 | Panipat Elevated Expressway | 10 Km |
| 22 | Delhi – Noida Direct Flyway | 9.2 Km |
| 23 | Delhi Faridabad Skyway | 4.4 KM |
List of upcoming Expressways in India
| S. No. | Name | Length |
| 1 | Ahmedabad – Dholera Expressway | 109 Km |
| 2 | Amritsar – Jamnagar Expressway | 109 Km |
| 3 | Bangalore – Chennai Expressway | 260.85 Km |
| 4 | Bangalore – Mysore Infrastructure Corridor | 119 Km |
| 5 | Bundelkhand Expressway | 296 Km |
| 6 | Chennai Port – Maduravoyal Expressway | 20.5 Km |
| 7 | Coastal Road (Mumbai) | 10 Km |
| 8 | DND – KMP Expressway | 59 Km |
| 9 | Delhi – Amritsar – Katra Expressway | 669 Km |
| 10 | Delhi – Mumbai Expressway | 1350 Km |
| 11 | Dwarka Expressway | 29.10 Km |
| 12 | Ganga Expressway (Meerut – Prayagraj) | 594 Km |
| 13 | Trans – Haryana Expressway (Ambala – Narnaul) | 227 Km |
| 14 | Gorakhpur Link Expressway | 91.352 Km |
| 15 | Lucknow – Kanpur Expressway | 63 Km |
| 16 | Mumbai – Nagpur Expressway | 701 Km |
| 17 | Pathankot – Ajmer Expressway | 600 Km |
| 18 | Rajpur – Vishakhapatnam Expressway | 464 Km |
List of Proposed Expressways in India
| S. No. | Name | Length |
| 1 | Amaravati – Anantpur Expressway | 371 Km |
| 2 | Amas – Darbhanga Expressway | 230 Km |
| 3 | Ballia Link Expressway | 35 Km |
| 4 | Buxar – Bhagalpur Expressway | 350 Km |
| 5 | Chambal Expressway | 404 Km |
| 6 | Chennai Surat Expressway | 1271 Km |
| 7 | Ganga Expressway Phase -2 | 594 Km |
| 8 | Gorakhpur – Siliguri Expressway | 650 Km |
| 9 | Hyderabad – Indore Expressway | 136 Km |
| 10 | Nagpur – Vijaywasa Expressway | 405 Km |
| 11 | Konkan Greenfield Expressway | 450 Km |
| 12 | Kurnool Feeder Expressway | 123.7 Km |
| 13 | Nagpur – Gondia – Gadchiroli Expressway | 450 Km |
| 14 | Nagpur – Hyderabad – Bengaluru Expressway | 1100 Km |
| 15 | Narmada Expressway | 900 Km |
| 16 | Outer Ring Road, Amaravati | – |
