The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has constructed around 57,125 km of National Highways over the past five financial years. Under Phase-I of the Bharatmala Pariyojana, 796 projects covering 26,425 km have been awarded out of the planned 34,800 km. Of this, 21,248 km had been completed up to September 2025.

In Karnataka, 3,187 km of National Highway projects—including expressways and economic corridors—have been sanctioned or awarded during the same period.

The National Highway network has expanded from 1,32,499 km in March 2019 to 1,46,560 km at present. The length of 4-lane and above highways has grown 1.4 times, from 31,066 km in 2019 to 43,512 km. Highways below 2-lane configuration have reduced from 27 per cent of the network in 2019 to 9 per cent. Access-controlled National High Speed Corridors and expressways totalling about 3,052 km are now operational.

These developments have increased average freight speeds on High Speed Corridors from 30–35 km/h on 4-lane highways to around 50 km/h, strengthening regional connectivity and logistics efficiency and supporting economic growth.

This information was provided by the Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Shri Nitin Jairam Gadkari, in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha.