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. 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.

Banihal Qazigund Road Tunnel
Overview
StatusOpening Soon ( expected March 2021)
RouteBanihal- Qazigund
Operation
Work begun2011
TrafficAutomotive
Technical
Length8.5 km.
No. of lanes4 (2 per tube)
Highest elevation1,790 m (5,870 ft)

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.[1]
  • As of February 2017, the tunnel excavation was close to completion.[2]
  • February 2018: Boring work of one tunnel had been completed. [3]
  • May 2018: Boring of the entire 8.5 km tunnel was completed on 20 May 2018.[4]
  • Jan 2019:Tunnel may open for traffic by March 2020. [5]
  • November 2019: Work progressing at slow pace; tunnel to be opened for traffic in March 2021. [6]

Location

The Southern portal (end) of the tunnel is at 33.4895°N 75.1729°E / 33.4895; 75.1729 and the Northern portal (end) of the tunnel is at 33.5646°N 75.1867°E / 33.5646; 75.1867.

See also

References
  1. "Tunnels of Hope in Valley, Governance Now". Retrieved 19 February 2017.
  2. "Tunnel openings". Retrieved 4 March 2017.
  3. http://www.greaterkashmir.com/news/state/tube-1-of-banihal-qazigund-four-lane-tunnel-completed/274288.html
  4. http://www.kashmirtimes.in/newsdet.aspx?q=79343
  5. https://www.greaterkashmir.com/news/kashmir/concern-8-years-on-work-on-qazigund-banihal-tunnel-far-from-over/
  6. https://www.dailyexcelsior.com/qazigund-banihal-tunnel-to-miss-5th-deadline/
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