Roads have preceded railways. Roads still have an edge over railways, in analysis of the effortlessness with which they can be constructed and preserved. They can be made to traverse forests and pass across deserts. Bridges help them cover strong rivers even in times of sudden water gushing. More significantly, they can be brought to everybody`s threshold. Principally, they can carry off higher gradients of slopes and as such can span mountains, such as the Himalayas.

Roads are of two kinds, based on their strength and make up - surfaced and un-surfaced. Surfaced roads are the finest. They are also named metalled roads. Surfaced roads may be constructed of cement, concrete or even bitumen or tar and coal. The surfaced roads therefore are all weather purposed. Un-surfaced or kuccha roads are of little use in the Indian rainy season.

Since Independence, surfaced roads have increased by more than eight times. All the national highways are surfaced roads and state highways are also surfaced to the tune of around 97%. National Highways comprise the leading arterial routes. By 1997-98 they had traversed about 49,600 km all through the country. Regardless of their small percentage of totality, they alone account for the majority- 40% of the total road transport demand of the country.

The importance of unsurfaced roads, however, cannot be downplayed. These roads open up the countryside to the contemporary methods of living and value system, based chiefly on money. In the present day India possesses about 15 million animal driven carts. They carry almost 900 million tonnes of farm goods, over short distances. Majority of this traffic is carried through unsurfaced roads.