Ramban, June 16: Trial run of vehicles via Banihal- Qazigund Tunnel was started by the National Highway Authority of India on Wednesday.
Although the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway was closed for repairs between Nashri and Banihal on Wednesday, skeletal local transport were allowed to pass through the tunnel.
The authorities told Greater Kashmir that the tunnel will be kept open on trial for a few hours on alternate days for a few weeks, before its formal inauguration.
The Qazigund-Banihal tunnel on the Srinagar-Jammu National highway has witnessed completion after it missed several deadlines in the last eight years due to the sluggish pace of work.
Pertinently, the four- laning project of Srinagar-Jammu highway (NH44) has been divided into six sub-projects, which include widening of Srinagar- Qazigund road (67.7 km), Qazigund-Banihal road (15.25 km), Banihal-Ramban road (36 km), Ramban-Udhampur road (43 km), Chenani-Nashri (9.2 km) and Jammu-Udhampur (65 km).
In 2015, the national highway authority (NHAI) started work on the expansion of 46 KM Banihal- Ramban stretch of NH-44.
The Rs 2,168.66 crore the project was to be accomplished by December 2019.
It may be mentioned that the landslides on the highway have left the stretch further narrow due to which the highway- considered to be the lifeline of the valley either remains mostly closed or operates only for one way traffic for a major part of the year
The closure results often depletes stocks of the essential commodities and steep hike in prices of essential food grains routed to the valley through this road only
As the stretch is also dotted with potholes and ditches making the journey of the commuters traveling on the highway arduous besides leading to frequent traffic jams, the 8-kilometer tunnel is expected to offer great respite to commuters.
This will also bring down the number of accidents as the highway also remains prone to accidents.
The shooting stones have consumed many precious lives in the accidents over the last several years.
“The condition of the road is so bad that it is virtually impossible for the vehicles to ply. I am quite glad that the tunnel has been made operational” said a sumo driver Muhamad Saleem. He said even a small downpour or light snowfall leads to the closure of the road and the passengers get stuck en-route for days together.
“The previous winter we witnessed many ambulances carrying the dead bodies to the valley stranded on the highway for several days. Hope this time the condition of the road is improved to avert such tragedies” said Muhammad Shams a local from Banihal.
The highway widening work was started in 2011 and it was targeted to be completed within five years from its commencement The four- laning of the highway would cut the distance between Srinagar to Jammu by 50 Kilometres and reduce the traveling time from nine hours to four hours. It would also ensure that the treacherous points of the Highways are avoided.