Union Minister Nitin Gadkari inspected the section from Srinagar–Banihal to the Udhampur-Ramban-Banihal of the Srinagar National Highway being constructed to provide all-weather connectivity between Jammu and Srinagar.
New Delhi ,UPDATED: Apr 12, 2023 03:26 IST
Union Minister Nitin Gadkari at the corridor construction site.
By Akshay Dongare: Union minister for road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari, along with with Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir Manoj Sinha inspected the Srinagar–Banihal section to the Udhampur-Ramban-Banihal of the Srinagar National Highway being constructed to provide all-weather connectivity between Jammu and Srinagar.
Nitin Gadkari was accompanied by Union Ministers of state General V.K. Singh (retd) and Jitendra Singh.
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Three corridors are being constructed at a cost of Rs 35,000 crore to ease travel between Jammu and Srinagar. The first corridor with four lanes–spanning approximately 250km in length–is being constructed from Jammu to Udhampur-Ramban-Banihal and further to Srinagar at an estimated cost of Rs 16,000 crore. Of this, around 210km of the corridor has been completed, which has been equipped with 10 tunnels.
The corridor has been divided into four lanes to ensure smooth flow of traffic even if a landslide occurs on any one lane. Crash barriers and other road safety measures have also been put in place to make travel between Jammu and Srinagar safe and smooth.
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With the construction of this route, there will be all-weather connectivity between Jammu and Srinagar. The travel time from Srinagar to Jammu will also be reduced from 9-10 hours to 4-5 hours.
A 40km four-lane road between Ramban and Banihal will be completed by June 2024 and will provide relief to the commuters of Srinagar.
