Guinness World Record for NHAI: 75km road built in 105 hours

New Delhi: The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) has set a Guinness World Record for the construction of the longest highway in the least time. The 75 km highway between Amravati and Akola, which is a part of National Highway 53, was built in 105 hours and 33 minutes.

The work was completed in record time by a team of 720 employees of a private company and 800 employees of the NHAI along with independent consultants. Construction work on the road, which began at 7 a.m. on June 3, was successfully completed on June 7 at 5 p.m.

Nitin Gadkari, the union road transport and highways minister on Wednesday tweeted, "Proud Moment For The Entire Nation! Feel very happy to congratulate our exceptional Team @NHAI_Official, Consultants & Concessionaire, Rajpath Infracon Pvt Ltd & Jagdish Kadam, on achieving the Guinness World Record (@GWR) of laying 75 Km continuous Bituminous Concrete Road ...in a single lane on NH-53 section between Amravati and Akola. I would specially thank our Engineers & Workers who toiled day & night to achieve this extraordinary feat. #PragatiKaHighway #GatiShakti @narendramodi @PMOIndia,".

He added that the newly constructed Amravati --Akola section which is the part of National Highway-53 is an important East-West corridor. This section of the road connects major cities like Kolkata, Raipur, Nagpur, Akola, Dhule and Surat and passes through a mineral-rich region, according to the New Indian Express.

Gadkari informed that with this achievement, the NHAI has surpassed the record of the Public Works Authority Ashghal in Qatar which was registered on February 27, 2019. The road was part of the Al-Khor Expressway, which was completed in 10 days.

"The vision of #NewIndia is being built on your perseverance & sweat. The whole nation is proud Keep up the great work! #Pratishtha #GatiShakti," the minister also tweeted.