India implements AI monitoring to penalize poor highway construction

Nitin Gadkari, the Minister of Road Transport and Highways in India, announced that the government will use Network Surveillance Vehicles to identify potholes and poor road quality on national highways.

The ministry plans to hold contractors, consultants, and officials accountable for construction flaws by imposing penalties and blacklisting those who compromise on quality standards. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has already seen a 30% reduction in reported construction problems since it began close monitoring.

To maintain this progress, the National Highways Authority of India will deploy vehicle-mounted, multi-sensor platforms. These vehicles assess pavement quality at speeds of 40 to 80 kmph and feed the data into AI-based systems like the RAMS Data Lake. The government is also expanding technology-led safety measures, including the first phase of AI-based Advanced Traffic Management Systems across 1,000 km of highways.

Gadkari noted that logistics costs in India dropped from 16% of the gross domestic product to 9% over the last two years due to improved roads. He also shared plans to collaborate with the Bihar government to dredge rivers for free to use the silt in highway construction, which aims to reduce flood risks in the region.