OpenHistoricalMap/Projects/India/Highways

This project describes the evolution of highway network in India

Books

• K. E. Verghese: The Development and Significance of Transport in India, 1834-1882 (1976)

Imperial Gazetteer of India

• Agra – Ahmedabad (1869-1875, originally compacted)
• Agra – Ajmer (1865-1869)
• Harihar – Bombay (bridge completed in 1868)
• Jhabua – Meghnagar (commenced in 1900)

Kerala

• Main Central Road
• Wilfred A: Development of Road Transport: A Travancore Experience (2019)
• Margaret Mary: Modernisation of Travancore (Journal of Kerala Studies, 2022)

Madras

Wikipedia: Madras Presidency

• Madras District Gazeteers 1908

Trunk Roads

Source: Parliamentary Papers 1862

No.	Name	Route	Remarks
1	Western Trunk	Bangalore – Hosur – Vaniyambadi – Madras	commenced in 1838
2		Mysore – Sumpajee Ghaut – Mangalore	commenced in 1838, opened in late 1840, completed in 1846
3		Bangalore – Manjarabad – Mangalore	1840 under construction
4		Bangalore – Kannur – Calicut	opened in 1858
5		Madras – Vaniyambadi – Salem – Bhavani – Coimbatore – Malabar
6	Northern Trunk	Madras – Nellore – Ongole – Guntur – Calcutta	1855 completed to 5 miles north of Nellore
7		Ongole – Hyderabad	mentioned as good road in 1862
8	Southern Trunk	Madras – Madurai	1849 completed between Chengalpattu and Vikravandi
9		Porto Novo – Kumbakonam
10		Arcot – Chitoor – Palamaneru – Ballari
11		Chitoor – Kolar

District Roads

District	Roads in 1850
Ganjam	no made road
Visakhapatnam	no made road
Rajamahendravaram	[1]
Machilipatnam	dry-season road from Hyderabad to Machilipatnam
Nellore	Nellore – Krishnapatnam completed in 1849
Kadapa	proposed
Ballari	Ballari – Dharwad was partially made

Newspaper Articles about Road Construction

• The Asiatic Journal and monthly register for British India and its Dependencies 1834 Dec, p.195: New Road (en)
  • Delhi – Koil (= Aligarh) – Bhongaon
• The Asiatic Journal and monthly register for British India and its Dependencies 1835 Sept, p.7: Roads (en)
• The Asiatic Journal and monthly register for British India and its Dependencies 1839 Nov, p.193: (en) road completed from Bombay to Sindwa
• The Asiatic Journal and monthly register for British India and its Dependencies 1840 Dec, p.273: Mysore (en)
  • Bangalore – Munjurabad (under construction)
  • Mangalore – Agumbe (completed)
  • Perapatam – Mercara (nearly finished)
• The Asiatic Journal and monthly register for British India and its Dependencies 1841 Nov, p.265: Public Works (en)
• The Asiatic Journal and monthly register for British India and its Dependencies 1842 Sept, p.104: (en) road from Calcutta to Sambalpur expected to be completed in 1844
• The Foreign Quarterly Review 1863, p.413: (en) road from Dharwad to Karwar expected to be completed in 1864