NHAI, in a statement, said the guidelines will ensure that upcoming and ongoing national highway projects are equipped to support MLFF-based barrier-free toll collection without requiring vehicles to stop at toll booths.
The initiative is aimed at eliminating traffic queues and waiting time, reducing fuel consumption at toll plazas, while making national highway journeys safer and more seamless, it added.
According to the statement, the guidelines prescribe uniform requirements for toll plaza layouts, lane configuration, gantries, road infrastructure, lighting, signage and supporting facilities. It also lays down an implementation framework for upcoming and ongoing National Highway projects.
The policy circular lays down standardised guidelines for the layout and infrastructure of barrier-less toll plazas across different configurations of National Highways.
These guidelines broadly prescribe the plaza layout, number of tolling lanes, provision and placement of gantries, and associated road safety features, signage and lighting arrangements to ensure uniformity in the design and facilitate seamless implementation of barrier-less tolling across the country.
With vehicles being tolled without the need to stop at physical barriers, the number of lanes required at a toll plaza has been rationalised in comparison to conventional toll plazas, facilitating more efficient utilisation of available space and improving traffic movement through the tolling zone.The statement said the guidelines will apply to all future and under-construction projects.
Projects at the Detailed Project Report (DPR) stage will incorporate the new design in their documents, while projects already awarded or under construction will adopt the changes through applicable contractual provisions, it said.