THE DESIGN OF A PAVEMENT IS GOVERNED BY THE TRAFFIC DENSITY, WHERE ROAD CAPACITY SHOULD BE DESIGNED AS PER THE TRAFFIC COUNTS-EQUIVALENCY FACTOR FOR VEHICLES, WHICH INCLUDES COMMERCIAL VEHICLES

Central Government and the State government of Himachal Pradesh must propose four lane upgradation of state Highways on the basis of density of traffic, defined as the volume of traffic, instead of the political consideration of the upgradation of such facilities expressed on the intensity of traffic per unit width of the carriage way wherein, the land width is the total width required to accommodate roadway, berms, drains and width as exclusive of land required for borrow pits, while desirable land width includes land for borrow pits. As for as recommended land width for different class of roads is concerned the IRC standard of National and the state Highways providing said range from 30to 60 metres, and the Major District roads taking said provision from 25 to 30 metres, other district roads said to be maintained for the land width of 15 to 25 metres where as the village roads are said to be maintained with in a width of the 12 to 18 metres. Formation width is considered for carriage way plus shoulders. It is the top width of the embankment or the bottom width of the cutting exuding the side drains. In addition to this earth berms need to be provide of width 1.8 minimum on the each side of the road. The width of the carriage way for National and state Highways in case of single lane must have 3.75 metres width and for the purpose of two lane it is 7.00 metres. The carriage way of the major district roads taken 3.75 metres and other district roads it is also taken as 3.75 metres ., where as in the case of village roads the said width of the carriage way has been taken 3.00 metres. 

It is particularly mentioned here that the state Governments are also responsible to upgrade their major district roads as the state highways instead of taking their services for the maintenance of roads with class of the other district roads failing which it would be difficult to protect the based roads capacity calculation for traffic counts -equivalency factor for vehicles, considered for single lane, 3.75 m carriage way with earth shoulders, 1000 capacity, Single lane with hard shoulders 1.0 metres wide, 2500 capacity, Two lane, 7.0 metres carriage way, 10000 capacity, 5.5 metres carriage way, 5000 capacity and the four lane divided highway, 20000 to 30000 capacity. Further it is submitted in the matter that the state Government and the Government of India must have accuracy and correctness on the captioned subject of traffic counts -equivalency factor for vehicles as class of roads for 5.5 metres carriage way must have, 5000 capacity but political consideration of disparity for ignorance of the class and capacity for carriage way width may increase this disparity more and more , keeping in view the four lane provision of the hilly terrains without taking this standard into the Highways , from where it is further justified for the upgradation of class under equivalency factor for vehicles, protected by the commercial vehicles, which includes all such vehicles except light delivery vans and three wheeled vehicles. Roads carrying heavy individuals loads should be designed as far very heavy traffic. Three lane roads offers only limited advantages over the two lane roads, and are unsafe where the passing sight distance can not be provided. Four lane roads should invariably be provided with median strips:-- Er Fateh chand Guleria, RTI welfare Association registered number HPCD, 3552 , Bilaspur Himachal Pradesh phone number 9459334377