The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has decided to make Network Survey Vehicle (NSV) use mandatory in order to enhance the quality of National Highways.

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways in a statement on Tuesday (13 April) said, “In line with its commitment to provide better roads to commuters, NHAI has decided to deploy Network Survey Vehicle (NSV) to enhance the quality of the National Highways. Carrying out a road condition survey on the National Highways using NSV has been made mandatory at the time of certifying project completion and every six months thereafter.”

The provision has been included as a part of the consultancy services’ standard bidding document.

“The deployment will help in enhancing highways’ overall quality as NSV utilizes the latest survey techniques like recording images and videos at regular intervals, high-resolution digital camera for 3600 imagery, Laser Road Profilometer as well as other related technology for the measurement of distresses in the road surface,” it said.

According to the ministry, the NSV will also help collate data to analyse the condition of the road including measurement of the road surface, potholes, surface cracking and patches. Also, it will offer data insights relating to side drains as well as road furniture, etc.

The statement also said that the collected data through NSV survey shall be uploaded on the highway authority’s ‘AI’ based portal Data Lake, where it will be analyzed by RAMS Cell (Road Asset Management Cell) to assess the condition or roughness of the road to prioritize for the maintenance.

“The data will help to maintain up-to-date asset inventory as well as road assets condition status. Besides delivering vital information on road network planning, offering relevant information on other aspects like road safety measures’ development, etc.,” the ministry said.

The NSV will assist in developing maintenance strategies for highways, analysis of maintenance as well as selection of optimal maintenance regime.

The ministry informed that the collected data through these surveys will highlight deficiencies in road conditions, prompting NHAI officials or BOT operators to take corrective measures in order to bring the condition of the road to the desired level.

This move is believed to result in better upkeep of National Highways, leading to more comfort as well as better travel experience for Highways commuters.