BHUBANESWAR: Pre-paid smart cards will be introduced on the Sambalpur-Rourkela stretch of the State Highway (SH)-10 for a hassle-free non-stop travel through toll gates.
One lane near the toll plazas will be kept exclusively for vehicles having smart cards which will ensure motorists to pass through without stopping to make payment, Works Secretary N K Pradhan told mediapersons here.
Addressing the platinum jubilee celebrations of the Indian Roads Congress (IRC), inaugurated on Sunday, Pradhan said smart card system has already been introduced on Delhi-Gurgaon expressway. The electronic toll collection will be piloted in Odisha after completion of the four-laning work of the Sambalpur-Rourkela stretch of the Biju expressway.
Pradhan, Chairman of the State Steering Committee for the IRC, said a radio frequency identification (RFID) smart card will be installed on the windscreen. The card reader installed at the toll gates would automatically read the card and deduct the toll amount, he added.
Vehicles having such facility will not have to stop at the toll gates which will open automatically when they approach the toll plaza. If any vehicle speeds through the gate without paying, it will be heavily penalised. The card reader will provide details of the vehicles which will be passed on to the Regional Transport Officer (RTO) for necessary action.
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) had introduced radio frequency touch-free smart cards on Delhi-Gurgaon expressway in 2012.
Director General (Road Development), MoRTH, S N Das said henceforth all the State and national highways will be made cement concrete roads instead of using bitumen. Cement roads will be more durable and the Government will save huge funds on road repairs every year, he added.
President of the IRC Suni Bhowmik said the the road congress will deliberate on use of waste materials, including plastic and locally available materials, for road construction. It will serve twin purposes. Use of waste material in the construction works will ensure better environment while the cost of construction will be cheaper, he added.
A technical exhibition-cum-buyers-sellers meet was also inaugurated by Rural Development Minister Badri Narayan Patra on the occasion.
Delegates at the IRC will discuss on important issues like use of modern technology, fly ash and other waste products in road construction and designing of roads for preventing accidents.