Jammu: Union Minister for road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari said on Tuesday that once the ongoing work is completed on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway, travel time will be reduced to just three hours.
Talking to reporters in Banihal town of Ramban district, Gadkari said that five tunnels will come up on the 45 km stretch between Ramban and Banihal while one of these has already been inaugurated.
“Once all the tunnels are completed, the travel time on Srinagar-Jammu highway will reduced to three hours.
“Today, we have achieved a breakthrough on one tunnel and the next three will be completed by March next year. Fifth tunnel is a bit difficult and that may take a bit longer.
“A resort will also come up on the highway where Kashmiri handicrafts will be showcased. Once the highway and tunnels are ready, the road will get connected with Katra and finally Delhi.
“This way, J&K will get connected with the rest of the country.
“We aim that the Srinagar to Jammu distance will be covered in three hours, Katra to Delhi in six hours and Delhi to Srinagar in eight hours.
“Better roads will help socio-economic growth of the J&K UT and generate lots of employment through tourism.”
Union Minister of State (PMO), Dr. Jitendra Singh accompanied Gadkari during the visit.
The three corridors between Jammu and Srinagar are being built at a cost of Rs 35,000 crore. Under this, the first corridor from Jammu to Udhampur-Ramban-Banihal and further to Srinagar includes the section from Srinagar to Banihal. This 4-lane road of 250 km length is being built at a cost of Rs 16,000 crore. Out of this, 4-laning of 210 km route has been completed, including 10 tunnels of 21.5 km.
Officials said that the design of 4-laning of this road has been done on the basis of geo-technical and geological investigation to overcome the possible landslides in this area. Crash barriers and other road safety measures have also been put in place to make travel between Jammu and Srinagar safe and smooth.
Gadkari on Monday had inspected Zojila Tunnel, Asia’s longest tunnel to establish all weather connectivity for Ladakh. With the construction of this tunnel, there will be all-weather connectivity for Ladakh. Currently, the average travel time to cross the Zojila Pass sometimes takes three hours, after the completion of this tunnel the travel time will come down to 20 minutes. The reduction in travel time will ultimately result in fuel savings.
(IANS)
