NEW DELHI: The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has issued guidelines to standardise the design and infrastructure of toll plazas on four-lane and wider National Highways to facilitate the rollout of Multi-Lane Free Flow (MLFF), a barrier-free toll collection system that allows vehicles to pass through without stopping.
The guidelines will apply to upcoming and ongoing National Highway projects and are aimed at reducing traffic congestion and waiting time at toll plazas, lowering fuel consumption and improving road safety and travel convenience.
The policy circular prescribes uniform requirements for toll plaza layouts, lane configurations, gantries, road infrastructure, lighting, signage and supporting facilities. It also provides an implementation framework to ensure that new and ongoing projects are equipped to support technology-driven, barrier-free toll collection.
Under the MLFF system, vehicles are tolled without having to stop at physical barriers. Accordingly, the number of lanes required at toll plazas has been rationalised compared to conventional toll facilities, allowing more efficient use of available space and smoother traffic movement through tolling zones.
The guidelines will be incorporated into all future and under-construction projects. National Highway projects at the Detailed Project Report (DPR) stage will have to include the prescribed designs in their documents, while projects already awarded or under construction will adopt the changes through applicable contractual provisions.
NHAI has directed its field offices to incorporate the requirements into upcoming projects and facilitate their implementation in ongoing works.
Emphasising road safety and user convenience, the guidelines provide for adequate lighting, advance information and guidance through appropriate signage and Electronic Variable Message Signs (VMS) at toll plazas. The measures are intended to improve visibility, alert motorists about tolling zones and ensure safer movement through these sections.
The framework also provides for an administrative building-cum-operations and maintenance centre at toll plazas to support the efficient management of facilities and operations.
Earlier, NHAI had issued comprehensive guidelines for planning and designing high-speed access-controlled National Highways, other than expressways. The guidelines sought to bring uniformity in technical standards for the preparation of DPRs for upcoming high-speed highway corridors and strengthen road safety.
The latest initiative is part of NHAI’s efforts to establish a standardised infrastructure framework for barrier-free tolling and improve the efficiency of toll operations across the National Highway network.
