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7/28/2019 Road Side Landscaping
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ROAD SIDE LANDSCAPING
S ESWARA REDDY [email protected]
The landscaping of the National and State Highways with trees is an important
aspect of beautifying our country side. Landscaping of high ways does not mean
only planting of trees; it is only one part of it Landscaping of a highway also
includes all other measures which help enhance the beauty and fits it into the
natural landscape of the area. Besides its engineering perfection, a highway
must look aesthetic, and should not disturb the ecological aspect of the area toomuch. But, unfortunately in India, this aspect has been either neglected or done
in a clumsy fashion. Planting of trees on highways is necessary not only for the
purpose of beautification but also for utility and necessity. The main purpose of
roadside trees is to provide shade during the summer. For this purpose,
evergreen trees with spreading crowns should be selected. For wider roads,
7/28/2019 Road Side Landscaping
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double rows can be planted, with the outer rows having shade trees and the
inner rows with flowering trees.
The road side trees on the National Highways should not only provide shade but
preferably also have some economic value. With this in .view many of the High
ways have been planted with trees such as Tamarind, Mango, Eugeniaoperaculata etc. The roadside fruit trees will be subjected to damage by urchins
and anti-social elements and in the process, may have less life
expectancy. Eugenia operculata has one nuisance value as when its fruits ripe
they drop on the road and make it dirty. The stain of this fruit is also difficult to
remove from the cloths.
Neem, Mahua, are road side trees of economic value. The highway trees should
be planted 12 m apart in the row and at least 5-6 m away from the edge of the
roads, so that they get enough space for spreading and do not interfere with the
traffic. If a road is an. wide as 30 m or more, double rows of trees should be
planted, rows being spaced 10-12 m apart.
Some of the other methods of improving the roadside landscape may be
suggested here. While constructing a new road it becomes necessary to
excavate earth from the road side for the road embankment, as a result the
road side develops some scars in the form of irregular ditches and burrow
areas, which not only look ugly but also serve as breeding grounds for
mosquitoes. It is suggested that such burrows and pits should be reshaped and
formed into road side lakes, if needed by outlining the borders with brick or
cement lining. The banks can be landscaped with a few beautiful trees.
If already some features such as a group of trees or a temple exist on the roadside, this should be incorporated in the overall landscaping of the highway.
23 November 2011