New tunnel to save 5 hrs Jammu-Srinagar journey time

Srinagar, Jul 26: In coming five years, we would see Asia's longest all-weather two twin tunnels that would allow us to travel to Srinagar by road even during chilled and harsh winters. It is being constructed on the NH-1A, which connects Jammu with Srinagar.

The tunnels are being constructed by the National Highways Authority India (NHAI) at two points - Quazigund to Banihal and Chenani to Nishri, which are part of the widening of the Jammu-Srinagar highway project.

Two parallel 8.5km tunnels between Quazigund to Banihal are being built by Indian infrastructure major Navayuga Engineering Co. at 1,790m above the sea level. This will be the India's first project, where each tunnel will be dedicated for only one-way traffic.

"Though each of the tubes will have a 7-m carriageway, which is adequate for two lanes, we will allow traffic only on one lane. The other lane will be set aside for emergency. The two tubes will be inter-connected at a distance of every 500m," said an NHAI official.

The tunnels will reduce the distance between the two towns by almost S51km, lessening the travel time by at least five hours. There will be toll plazas at the end of both tunnels, which will also regulate the entry of vehicles.

OneIndia News