TUNNEL HOPE IN THE VALLEY
Along leap of development for Jammu & Kashmir,” is how Prime Minister Narendra Modi described the incredible 9.3 km Chenani-Nashri tunnel at the inauguration on April 2. Pegged as Asia’s longest, the Rs 3,720 crore project is a major step forward in the completion of an ambitious plan to redevelop the existing Jammu-Srinagar Highway (NH 1A).
The new four-lane motorway, renamed NH 44, will have 13 tunnels, two dozen viaducts and over 150 bridges, shortening the present 300 km journey by over 60 km and travel time to just four-and-a-half hours, from the 10-12 hours it now takes motorists. More significantly, the project will, for the first time, allow all-weather, year-round connectivity between the Valley and the rest of India.
J&K secretary for roads Rohit Kansal says the Jammu-Srinagar highway project is the first of several that will “afford unhindered road travel between all the three regions of the state—Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh”. Two equally ambitious tunnel projects—the 6.5 km Z-Morh near Gagangeer on the Srinagar-Kargil road, and a 14 km one below the Zojila Pass on the road to Leh—are also designed to ensure all- year connectivity between the Valley and Ladakh.
The National Highways & Infrastructure Development Corporation, which is overseeing the highway projects, recently commissioned project reports for two other highways—NH 144A, popularly known as Mughal Road, to provide an alternative route from Jammu to the Valley via Poonch and Shopian; and NH 244 from Batote to Kishtwar. When complete, the redevelopment projects will provide several alternative routes to Kashmir. There are also plans to connect far-flung areas like Gurez and Tangdhar through all-weather tunnels.