@ sofs It wouldn't be possible to make it free after the initial costs are covered, because a good road needs constant maintenance. Its does cost a lot to maintain the quality of roads.

However, as you feel at least the burden of toll fees can be reduced considerably over a period of time.

Consequently, it seems road building and maintenance works are what bring money to politicians today. They recover the costs of being elected from the contracts given out for these purposes. 

We just become pawns in their game. 

We have more than 400 toll collection gates in India...some have been added after this list was made public. Up leads the list with Rajasthan , Maharashtra,TN having the next highest number of tolls..That is a lot of revenue for the National Highway authorities 

http://www.nhtis.org/tolllist.htm

There is a nexus between the politicians and the Contractors. The politicians including the concerned ministers get hefty amounts for the Party's funds etc. Many times the concerned politician gets a road link to his home which is located in remote regions.

A 100 km express highway was built around 20 years back at a cost of app. Rs 1200 crores. The toll was Rs 49 per one way. Today the toll has gone up to Rs 66 per one way. Still the cost has not been recovered and the toll amount has gone up. Why should it go up? The traffic has nearly doubled on the highway. That should bring them more revenue. The waiting time to pay the toll keeps going up. But in this particular highway the road  is maintained in an excellent condition. I have traveled in USA and China where also toll has to be paid. But in USA it was a flat 25 cents on almost all the toll roads that i traveled upon in the late nineties. No need of change and receipts also were not given. The traffic thus moved very fast.

rambabu wrote:

There is a nexus between the politicians and the Contractors. The politicians including the concerned ministers get hefty amounts for the Party's funds etc. Many times the concerned politician gets a road link to his home which is located in remote regions.

I doubt if a toll road would be constructed to the politicians placee and that too in remote regions ...Toll gates are constructed only on National Highways and state highways.

I will give the link after a while. It happened in AP

rambabu wrote:

I will give the link after a while. It happened in AP

 

I shall be waiting eagerly for that link because I have my doubts that a political leader would want a toll road leading to his residence. 

usha manohar wrote:

rambabu wrote:

There is a nexus between the politicians and the Contractors. The politicians including the concerned ministers get hefty amounts for the Party's funds etc. Many times the concerned politician gets a road link to his home which is located in remote regions.

I doubt if a toll road would be constructed to the politicians placee and that too in remote regions ...Toll gates are constructed only on National Highways and state highways.

I thought about it later thinking where I committed the mistake. In the thread I posted nowhere I mentioned about A Toll Gate. It was about laying a road to an MLA to his home located in a remote place. It was in context of building roads and the nexus between Politicians and the contractors.

 I know Toll Gates are constructed only on National Highways. Sorry for the inconvenience I caused.