India’s highways could be used as runways

The Indian Air Force (IAF) is suggesting that new highways could also be designed as backup runways for its air defence fleet. The first highway to be constructed so that it could also be used as a runway is likely to be the 302km Lucknow-Agra Expressway. This route will be operational by the end of 2016. The IAF has been working on plans to build emergency runways and has been developing solutions for mobile logistics support. It has also been researching suitable road sections and the minimum infrastr
May 18, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
The Indian Air Force (IAF) is suggesting that new highways could also be designed as backup runways for its air defence fleet. The first highway to be constructed so that it could also be used as a runway is likely to be the 302km Lucknow-Agra Expressway. This route will be operational by the end of 2016.

The IAF has been working on plans to build emergency runways and has been developing solutions for mobile logistics support. It has also been researching suitable road sections and the minimum infrastructure requirements needed. The plans have been shared with India’s Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. The runways would serve as alternative runways for operations if key IAF air force bases were to be attacked.

The idea of using a highway as a temporary runway is by no means new. The first stretches of Germany’s Autobahn system were constructed in the 1930s and these were considered from the outset as being suited to use as temporary runways. During the latter part of WWII, a number of Autobahn sections were used as temporary runways, particularly for fighter operations. Other countries too have used sections of highway at times for military aircraft.

Road Structures

Related Content

  • Framework solutions speed bridge construction
    February 24, 2012
    Framework plays a key role in construction of bridges and other major infrastructure works – Mike Woof writes Speeding construction processes can help reduce costs considerably and the latest formwork solutions can provide significant benefits in this regard. In many projects the use of standardized and modular formwork solutions can play a key role, reducing the planning and systems required for bridge building work.
    Read More
  • Bridge collapse on key I-5 route in Washington State
    June 24, 2013
    The news that a key highway bridge has collapsed in the US comes as gloomy reading for all in the highway sector. When a section of the Interstate 5 Bridge over the Skagit River in Washington failed in May 2013, a number of vehicles were plunged into the river. Luckily no-one was killed in the incident on the route, which is one of the main links between the US and Canada, and the parallel bridge was able to carry traffic, albeit with delays for users.
    Read More
  • Russia to commission new Moscow-St Petersburg highway by 2020
    June 20, 2017
    Final delivery of the final stretch for Russia’s key highway project looks set to be delayed – Eugene Gerden writes. I now looks as if Russia’s most ambitious project in the field of road building in recent years, the building of a new high-speed road link between Moscow and St Petersburg, the country’s largest cities, will not be complete in time. The project was set up by the Russian government and several private investors. According to initial state plans, building of the new road should have been compl
    Read More
  • New version of world’s longest floating bridge
    August 12, 2014
    The creation of a new version of the world’s longest floating bridge in Seattle, in the US state of Washington, is among the world’s most eye-catching current bridge engineering projects. It is an impressive example of the health of the bridge replacement sector, particularly in the US, leaving it well placed for growth. Guy Woodford reports Already the world’s longest floating bridge at over 2,310m long, the Governor Albert D Rosellini-Evergreen Point Floating Bridge in Seattle in the United States is g
    Read More

Highlighted Content