Showing its commitment to strengthen safety, quality and long-term durability of the National Highway network, National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has decided to empanel Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and other reputed technical institutions for independent proof checking of hydraulic studies and design of major bridge structures across National Highway projects in all new projects. 

The step is aimed at ensuring that major bridges, which are designed for a service life of 100 years or more, undergo rigorous independent technical review before construction. Around 12 IITs, including IIT Delhi, IIT Bombay, IIT Roorkee, IIT Kharagpur and several other premier institutions have expressed willingness to collaborate with NHAI.

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The initiative will enable NHAI to create a nationwide institutional framework for design vetting of critical bridge projects. The framework will help to strengthen quality assurance practices and promote better design and execution of bridge projects. The initiative will include reviews of structural design calculations, engineering drawings, construction methodologies, geotechnical investigations, and hydraulic studies. 

The framework will be uniformly applicable across projects being implemented under various modes of construction, thereby creating a consistent quality assurance mechanism across different project delivery formats. 

This initiative is expected to enhance structural safety, improve design reliability as well as minimise long-term operational risks. This is mainly because, this move aligns with NHAI's broader objective of adopting best-in-class engineering practices and institutional mechanisms to support the development of high quality and future-ready National Highway network.