- Motorways of Pakistan
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Pakistan motorway sign
The Motorways of Pakistan are the nationally coordinated high-speed, limited-access or controlled-access highways in Pakistan, and maintained and operated by the National Highway Authority.
Contents
Features
All motorways are either 6-lane or 4-lane roads, with the option of expanding to 6-lanes, as congestion increases over time.
Total Length
As of August 2011, operational motorways in Pakistan had a combined length of 679.5 km with another 278 km were under construction. At least 1200 km of motorways are further planned over the next 10 years.
Speed Limit
The speed limit for "Heavy Transport Vehicles" is between 80 km/h to 100 km/h while "Light Transport Vehicles" have a speed limit of 120 km/h.
Access
Entry to all motorways are restricted to only fast moving vehicles, including high-performance heavy bikes. They have a central median and are fenced on either side for safety and prevention of unauthorized access by pedestrians, animals and slow-moving vehicles. Pedestrians, bicycles, low-performance motorcycles, animal-driven carriages and other slow-moving vehicles are not permitted.
National Trade Corridor
Pakistan's motorways are part of the "National Trade Corridor Project", which aims to link Pakistan's three Arabian Sea ports (Port of Karachi, Port Bin Qasim and Gwadar Port) to the rest of the country and further north with Afghanistan, Central Asia and China.
List of Motorways in Pakistan
Roadmap of Motorways and National Highways of PakistanSign Name Route Lanes Length Status Remarks 
M-1 Peshawar - Islamabad 6 Lanes 155 km Operational Operational since October 2007 
M-2 Islamabad - Lahore 6 Lanes 367 km Operational Operational since November 1997 
M-3 Pindi Bhattian - Faisalabad 4 Lanes 54 km Operational Connects the M2 Pindi Bhattian junction to Faisalabad 
M-4 Faisalabad - Multan 4 Lanes 233 km Under Construction Began construction in August 2009 
M-5 Multan - Dera Ghazi Khan 4 Lanes - Planned 
M-6 Dera Ghazi Khan - Ratodero 4 Lanes - Planned 
M-7 Dadu - Dureji - Hub 4 Lanes 270 km Planned 
M-8 Ratodero - Gwadar 4 Lanes 892 km Under Construction Hoshab - Gwadar section 70% complete 
M-9 Hyderabad - Karachi 6 Lanes 136 km Planned M-9 is currently the 4-lane "Super Highway" with plans to upgrade to a 6-lane access-controlled motorway[1] 
M-10 Linking M9 with N-25 north of Karachi 4 Lanes 57 km Operational Currently 2-lanes with additional 2-lanes planned 
Lahore Northern Bypass Linking M2 to N-5 north of Lahore 4 Lanes 7.5 km Operational Lahore Ring Road Lahore orbital motorway (linked to M-2 and N-5) 6 Lanes 85 km Partially Operational 40 km Operational, 45 km Under Construction Patrolling and enforcement
Pakistan's National Highways and Motorway Police patrolling the M2 Motorway.Pakistan's Motorways are patrolled by Pakistan's National Highways and Motorway Police (NH&MP), which is responsible for enforcement of traffic and safety laws, security and recovery on the Pakistan Motorway network. The NH&MP use SUVs, cars and heavy motorbikes for patrolling purposes and speed cameras for enforcing speed limits.
Emergency Runways
The M-1 and the M-2 motorways both include four emergency runway sections (2 on each motorway with 9,000 feet) for use by the Pakistan Air Force. The four emergency runway sections become operational by removing the removable concrete medians using forklifts. The Pakistan Air Force has used the M-2 as a runway twice, once in 2000 when it landed an F-7P fighter, a Super Mushak trainer and a C-130. The PAF again did this in 2010 to land, refuel and take-off a Mirage III and an F-7P, during its Highmark 2010 exercise. [2]
See also
Footnotes
References
External links
Motorways of Pakistan Sialkot-Lahore Expressway | Torkham-Peshawar Expressway | Islamabad-Muzaffarabad Expressway
Lahore Ring Road | Peshawar Ring Road
Categories:- Roads in Pakistan
- Motorways in Pakistan
- Lists of roads in Pakistan
- Asia road stubs
- Pakistan transport stubs
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