Question

State three merits and demerits of roadways.

Answer 1

Hint: A road is a paved way or perhaps a kuccha path that connects two or more places together. Roads consist of at least two or more roadways each with one or more lanes and any associated sidewalks and road verges.

Complete answer:
Glossary for Transport Statistics Illustrated defines a road as a "Line of communication (traveled way) open to public traffic, primarily for the use of road motor vehicles, using a stabilized base other than rails or air strips. Included are paved roads and other roads with a stabilized base, e.g. gravel roads. Roads also cover streets, bridges, tunnels, supporting structures, junctions, crossings and interchanges. Toll roads are also included. Excluded are dedicated cycle lanes."

Three notable merits of roadways are:-
1. Construction of roadways is cheaper in comparison to other modes of transport such as railway lines. Hence with less investment we can obtain efficient connectivity between two or more places.
2. Road transport provides employment to many people in multiple ways.
3. Roads are helpful in transporting and distributing perishable goods among people at their doorstep which is not possible in case of railways.

Demerits of roadways are:
1. The ever rising prices of petrol and diesel have made road transport a rather expensive affair.
2. Roads are unsuitable for transport of bulky goods across the country. Railways are preferred for this.
3. Roads require maintenance which is unfortunately a widely ignored issue in India. Hence most of the roads are in poor condition in the country which makes roadways dangerous to travel by.

Note: India has a network of over 5,897,671 kilometres which is the second-largest road network in the world, after the United States with 6,645,709 kilometres. National Highway 44 is the longest national highway in India with a length of 3,745 kilometres running from Srinagar in the north to Kanyakumari in the South. NH-44 connects 11 states and about 30 important cities with each other.