Government wants Indian Road Congress to develop international standards for tunnel, bridge construction

The road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari has asked the Indian Road Congress to develop international standards and codes for development of bridges and tunnels to ensure best quality construction.

“Common policy will help all stakeholders. I have suggested Indian Road Congress to come up with common standards for construction of bridges and tunnels, though I understand construction of tunnels depends on the geology of the terrain or the place,” he said while virtually addressing the Assocham’s Annual Infrastructure Conference on Tuesday.

Commenting on the need for a good quality as well as cost effective construction, Gadkari said, the quality of national highways in the country is not up to the mark and we need technological innovations to develop best quality infrastructure which is also economically viable.


“The pre-cast technology is one option going forward,” he said.

“Besides, we need to look at alternatives to stainless steel as its cost is going up and one option could be glass fibre steel that can make these projects viable,” Gadkari said.

According to Gadkari, India should also look at Make in India construction machinery as such imports from China are getting difficult.

Citing the example of Zojila tunnel, Gadkari said the adoption of futuristic technology has helped save Rs 5000 crore on the project. “The estimated cost for the project was Rs 12,000 crore but has now saved Rs 5000 crore,” he said.

Gadkari urged industry to look at alternative materials and better technology for construction of tunnels and bridges to reduce cost but without compromising on quality of construction.