Banihal Qazigund Road Tunnel
Banihal Qazigund Road Tunnel is an 8.5 km (5.3 mi) road tunnel at elevation of 1,790 m (5,870 ft) in the Pir Panjal range in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir connecting Banihal and Qazigund. The tunnel will reduce the distance between Srinagar and Jammu by 16kms.[1]
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Status | Opening Soon |
| Route | Banihal - Qazigund |
| Start | Banihal |
| End | Qazigund |
| Operation | |
| Work begun | 2011 |
| Traffic | Automotive |
| Technical | |
| Length | 8.5 km. |
| No. of lanes | 4 (2 per tube) |
| Highest elevation | 1,790 m (5,870 ft) |
It is a double tube tunnel consisting of two parallel tunnels - one for each direction of travel. Each tunnel is 7 m (23 ft) wide and has two lanes of road. The two tunnels are interconnected by a passage every 500 m (1,600 ft) for maintenance and emergency evacuation. The tunnel will have forced ventilation for extracting smoke and stale air and infusing fresh air. It will have state of the art monitoring and control systems for security. It is expected that vehicles will have to pay a toll to use the tunnel.
Status of construction
Construction of this tunnel started in 2011 along with the project to widen NH 44 (which was known as NH 1A before all the national highways were renumbered in the year 2010) to four lanes. The existing road tunnel below the Banihal pass (Jawahar tunnel), has been a bottleneck on the road due to its elevation of 2,194 m (7,198 ft) and limited traffic capacity. The new tunnel's average elevation at 1,790 m is 400 m lower than the existing Jawahar tunnel's elevation, which would make it less prone to avalanches. When completed, the tunnel would reduce the road distance between Banihal and Qazigund by 16 km (10 mile).
- As of May 2016, 7.2 km of the 8.5 km had been excavated.[2]
- As of February 2017, the tunnel excavation was close to completion.[3]
- February 2018: Boring work of one tunnel had been completed. [4]
- May 2018: Boring of the entire 8.5 km tunnel was completed on 20 May 2018.[5]
- Jan 2019:Tunnel may open for traffic by March 2020. [6]
- November 2019: Work progressing at slow pace; tunnel to be opened for traffic in March 2021. [7]
- 25 February 2021:Tunnel likely to thrown open for traffic in April 2021[8]
- 5 April 2021: opening delayed until end of April 2021.[9]
- Jun 2021: Tunnel is almost ready, could be made operations in few weeks. [10]
Location
The Southern portal (end) of the tunnel is at 33°29′22″N 75°10′22″E / 33.4895°N 75.1729°E and the Northern portal (end) of the tunnel is at 33°33′53″N 75°11′12″E / 33.5646°N 75.1867°E.
See also
- Jawahar Tunnel
- Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee Tunnel
- Chattergala Tunnel
- Zoji-la Tunnel
- Z-Morh Tunnel
- Pir Panjal Railway Tunnel
- NH 44 (former name NH 1A before renumbering of all national highways)
References
- ^ "All-weather tunnel linking Jammu and Srinagar to open soon. All you must know". Retrieved 10 June 2021.
{{cite news}}: Check|url=value (help) - ^ "Tunnels of Hope in Valley, Governance Now". Retrieved 19 February 2017.
- ^ "Tunnel openings". Retrieved 4 March 2017.
- ^ "Tube 1 of Banihal-Qazigund four-lane tunnel completed | Greater Kashmir".
- ^ "Banihal-Qazigund road tunnel opening likely next year: NHAI - Kashmir Times". www.kashmirtimes.in.
- ^ "CONCERN: 8 years on, work on Qazigund-Banihal tunnel far from over | Greater Kashmir".
- ^ Excelsior, Daily (24 November 2019). "Qazigund-Banihal tunnel to miss 5th deadline".
- ^ "'Qazigund-Banihal tunnel being thrown open in March'".
- ^ "Opening of Qazigund-Banihal tunnel delayed from March end to April end". Kashmir Reader. Archived from the original on 22 April 2021. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
- ^ https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/infrastructure/8-5-km-all-weather-qazigund-banihal-hi-tech-tunnel-likely-to-be-operational-in-coming-weeks/videoshow/83440266.cms