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Road classification as per NRS 2070

Short answer

NRS 2070 classifies roads into Strategic (National Highways, Feeder roads under DoR) and Local (District, Urban, Village roads under local governments). Technical classes based on design-year PCU: Class I (>20,000), II (5,000–20,000), III (2,000–5,000), IV (<2,000).

Explain the classification of roads as per the Nepal Road Standard (NRS 2070).

The Nepal Road Standard 2070 (NRS 2070, Department of Roads) classifies the public roads of Nepal mainly by function and administrative responsibility into the Strategic Road Network (SRN) and the Local Road Network (LRN). It also gives a technical (design) classification based on traffic volume.

1. Strategic Road Network (SRN) - under the Department of Roads

  • National Highways (H): the main arterial roads, running east-west or north-south, linking the national capital, regional centres, zones/provinces, major economic centres and international border points. Numbered H01, H02, ... (e.g. Mahendra Highway H01). They carry the most traffic and have the highest design standard.
  • Feeder Roads (F): link district headquarters, major production/tourism centres and important towns to the National Highways. Numbered F001, F002, ...

2. Local Road Network (LRN) - under local governments

  • District Roads: Core district roads connect the district headquarters/important centres to the SRN or to other core roads; other district roads connect smaller centres to the core network.
  • Urban Roads: roads inside municipalities (arterial, collector, local streets), under the municipality.
  • Village (Rural) Roads: link villages to the district road or to the nearest market; lowest traffic and lowest standard.

Classification table

ClassFunctionTypical trafficAuthority
National HighwayLong-distance, through trafficHighestDoR
Feeder RoadCollect traffic to NHMedium-highDoR
District RoadLink district centresMedium-lowLocal govt
Urban RoadCity movement and accessVariesMunicipality
Village RoadLocal accessLowestLocal govt

3. Technical classification by traffic volume (design classes)

Design classTraffic (ADT in PCU, design year)
Class Imore than 20,000
Class II5,000 - 20,000
Class III2,000 - 5,000
Class IVless than 2,000

The class decides the number of lanes, carriageway and shoulder widths and other geometric standards.

Other bases of classification

  • Terrain: NRS 2070 sets design speed, widths and maximum gradient according to road class and terrain (plain, rolling, mountainous, steep), classified by the cross-slope of the ground.
  • Surface type: paved (bituminous, concrete) and unpaved (gravel, earthen) roads.
  • Right of way: fixed by class, widest for National Highways (50 m, i.e. 25 m on each side of the centre line) and 30 m for Feeder Roads.

The figures (widths, speeds) vary with terrain and traffic, so a designer must read the exact table in NRS 2070 for the road class in question.

✓ Answer checked by Claude Opus 5.5 (high effort)

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