3 min readOct 30, 2026 08:24 PM ISTA MLFF Gantry shall act as a backup system and be placed after crossing the pay axis gantry on either side of the carriageway. (File Photo)The multi-lane free flow (MLFF) or barrier-less tolling system will reduce the number of lanes required at the toll gate in the newly built or under-construction national highways. According to the guidelines issued by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) on Friday, a four-lane highway will have eight fee plaza lanes, including spare lanes to address emergencies. Similarly, 6-lane highway will have 10 toll lanes and 8-lane highway will have 12 toll lanes at the toll gate.Officials said that since the MLFF system does not require vehicles to stop at the toll gate for payment of user fee and reduces the problem of congestion, it would not be necessary to have more lanes than what has been fixed now.Earlier, the NHAI’s 2021 guidelines required to build a “minimum number” of 6 toll lanes, 8 toll lanes and 12 toll lanes for 2-lane, 4-lane and 6-lane highways respectively. For instance, Urban Extension Road-II (UER-II) is a 4-lane highway but it has more than 20-lane toll plaza in Delhi. Similarly, Dwarka Expressway is a 8-lane highway, but it has a 32-lane plaza since it was constructed under the old boom barrier system.“In the new guidelines, there is no ‘minimum lanes’ requirement like old barrier system. It has been fixed for 4, 6 and 8 lane highways. The authority has standardised the layout plan for MLFF for the first time. Earlier more lanes were required to tackle the congestion during the peak hours,” said the NHAI official.According to the guidelines, the toll lane width at the pay axis gantry shall be 3.5 meters to provide lateral clearance for vehicles traversing the gantry at free-flow speed and to ensure reliable capture and reading by the high performance equipment.The authority also said that the system shall comprise gantry-mounted high-performance RFID readers, an Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) camera system, and other requisite equipment.“The System shall identify vehicles in motion and deduct the applicable User Fee through FASTag without requiring vehicles to stop at the Toll Plaza. In respect of vehicles without a valid and functional FASTag, the system shall generate an e-Notice in accordance with Rule 14 of the National Highways Fee (Determination of Rates and Collection) Rules, 2008,” reads the guidelines.Story continues below this adA MLFF Gantry shall act as a backup system and be placed after crossing the pay axis gantry on either side of the carriageway.The NHAI also said that the advance direction signage shall be provided to indicate the barrier less plaza gantry ahead and displayed at an appropriate distance in advance of the plaza to warn and guide road users.“Adequate illumination of the Barrier Less Plaza zone shall be provided by way of high-mast lighting. This is important not only for night-time road safety but also for the efficiency of the barrier-less tolling equipment, since the performance of the ANPR cameras, readers and allied sensors is directly dependent on the level of illumination available at the gantry location,” the NHAI said.© The Indian Express Pvt LtdDheeraj Mishra is a Principal Correspondent with the Business Bureau of The Indian Express. He plays... Read More Tags:highwaysAdvertisementLoading Recommendations...AdvertisementAdvertisement