Toll charges might soon be halved for these highways; Check key details

In a fresh bid to rationalise toll collection on national highways, the road transport ministry has proposed slashing toll charges by half during the expansion of 10-metre-wide two-lane highways with paved shoulders into four-lane corridors, according to a TOI report. The proposal aims to address concerns that commuters face reduced service quality and limited road width while construction is in progress on these stretches.

Currently, the user fee for such highway stretches stands at 60% of the standard toll for national highways, even during the expansion phase, as they are narrower and lack dividers. If the new proposal is approved by the finance ministry, the toll during the construction period will be reduced further to just 30% of the regular rate.

For the widening of four-lane highways to six lanes or six lanes to eight, the toll charged during the construction phase is capped at 75% of the standard rate. This reduction accounts for the inconvenience faced by commuters due to ongoing work and limited road availability, according to the TOI report. The issue has sparked considerable concern, with courts in some cases taking note of the discrepancy between toll charges and the actual level of service provided during construction.


The proposal to ease toll charges for commuters using two-lane national highways with paved shoulders gains significance in light of road transport minister Nitin Gadkari’s announcement to upgrade 25,000 km of such highways into four-lane corridors with an investment of Rs 10 lakh crore over the next two years. Over the coming decade, the government plans to prioritise the expansion of two-lane and two-lane-with-paved-shoulders stretches, which currently make up nearly 80,000 km of the total 1.46 lakh km national highway network.

Earlier, the government introduced a Rs 3,000 annual toll pass scheme to ease the burden on commuters, allowing private vehicles to cross up to 200 toll plazas in a year. More recently, it notified a new rule to cut toll rates by up to 50% for specific structures like bridges, tunnels, flyovers, and elevated sections on highways. This move is expected to particularly benefit commercial and heavy vehicles, especially on routes with a higher concentration of such structures.