Longest Highway in India: National Highways has emerged as the backbone of India’s road network in recent years, connecting the country’s northern, southern, eastern, and western regions. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), accountable for the whole road network, deserves all of the credit from its construction to its upkeep. National highways are highly significant in the development of a country’s infrastructure. India has a large number of national highways. Let’s analyze India’s top ten longest National Highways, determined by their length.
Longest Highway In India
NH 44 is India’s longest interstate highway. It was formerly known as National Highway 7 (NH 7). There are 3,745 kilometres of the North-South Corridor of the NHDP covered by NH 44. From Srinagar in the north to Kanyakumari in the south, it is a lifetime journey. To build the NH 44, seven main national highways with old designations were joined together, including NH 1A, N1, N2, N3, N75, N26, and N7.
List of Top 10 Longest National Highways In India
Over 200 National Highways may be found in India. This is a list of India’s top 11 National Highways, the cities they serve, and the distance between them.
| S. No | National Highway | Distance (in km) | Route |
| 1 | NH 44 (old NH 7) | 3,745 | Srinagar to Kanyakumari |
| 2 | NH 27 | 3,507 | Porbandar in Gujarat to Silchar in Assam |
| 3 | NH 48 (old NH 8) | 2,807 | Delhi to Chennai |
| 4 | NH 52 | 2,317 | Sangrur, Punjab to Ankola, Karnataka |
| 5 | NH 30 (Old NH 221) | 2,040 | Sitarganj in Uttarakhand to Ibrahimpatnam in Andhra Pradesh. |
| 6 | NH 6 | 1,873 | Jorabat in Meghalaya and terminates at Selling in Mizoram |
| 7 | NH 53 | 1,781 | Hajira in Gujarat and Pradip port in Odisha. |
| 8 | NH 16 (Old NH 5) | 1,711 | East coast of West Bengal to Chennai in Tamil Nadu. |
| 9 | NH 66 (Old NH 17) | 1,622 | Panvel and terminates at Kanyakumari |
| 10 | NH 19 (Old NH 20) | 1,435 | Delhi to Kolkata |
| 11 | NH 34 | 1,426 | Gangotri Dham in Uttarakhand to Lakhnadon in Madhya Pradesh |
Longest Highway In India: NH 44
Longest Highway In India
A network of trunk roads in India, owned by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, is known as the national highway system. National Highway Authority of India (NHAI), the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation (NHIDCL), and the public works departments (PWD) of state governments are responsible for the construction and administration of the highway system. As of April 2019, India’s National Highways covered 142,126 kilometres (88,313 kilometres). National highways connect all major cities in India, from North to South and East to West.
The Golden Quadrilateral is a geographical feature seen in India (GQ). Known as the Grand Central Expressway (GQ), it is a national highway system that connects India’s major economic, agricultural, and cultural hubs. It forms a quadrilateral that connects India’s four largest metro cities, namely Delhi (north), Kolkata (East), Mumbai (west), and Chennai (southeast) (south).
Longest Highway In India: Facts
- India boasts the world’s second-largest road network, with a total length of 8,000 kilometres.
- It is estimated that there are about 200 national highways with a full length of 101,011 kilometres. There are a total of 1,31,899 kilometres of state highways in India.
- In this case, the major highway has a two-digit number, while all highways with three-digit numbers are technically branches of the main highway.
- For example, the highway with the number 144 is a subsidiary branch of highway 44. 144A, 244A, and so on are subdivisions further subdivided and called using a suffixed alphabet.
- In India, national highways account for barely 1.8 per cent of total road traffic. Despite this, they are in command of 40% of the country’s highway traffic.
- National Highway Colors:
- National Highways are designated by yellow and white colours.
- For state roadways, use green and white.
- City highways are in black and white.
- The length of the national highway (NH118) is less than five kilometres, and it is connected to the national route 548. Asanbani and Jamshedpur are connected by National Highway 118, which runs approximately 5 kilometres between the two towns. The National Highway 548 runs across Maharashtra for about 5 kilometres.
- Shimla in Himachal Pradesh is connected to Leh in Jammu and Kashmir by the Leh-Manali Highway, the world’s second-highest motorway in terms of altitude.
FAQs on Longest Highway in India
Q. In what state is the country’s longest roadway located?
Ans- From Srinagar in the north to Kanyakumari in the south, NH 44 is the longest roadway.
Q. Is India home to a large number of national highways?
Ans- In India, there are 599 national highways.
Q. How far are India’s National Highways all connected?
Ans- The total length of India’s national highways is 132500 kilometres.
Q. Which Indian national highway is the country’s second-longest?
Ans- Second longest national highway in India, NH 27 connects Gujarat with Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh with Uttar Pradesh and Assam with Bihar and West Bengal before ending at Kolkata.
Q. The smallest national highway in India is located in which state?
Ans- Kerala’s NH 47A is the country’s smallest national highway, connecting Kundanoor Junction in Maradu to Willingdon Island, Kochi’s main port.