Another Four-lane National Highway work has started in Himachal. A target has been set to complete the construction on the Kalka-Shimla NH between Kanthlighat to Shakral in two and a half years, but there are still seven national highways that are pending a decision to convert them into four lanes.
One part of this is between Shakral to Dhalli, which is the last project of the Kalka-Shimla National Highway. It is yet to get forest clearance.
About 11 kilometers of National Highway is to be constructed from Shakral to Dhalli and the special thing is that it is also proposed to construct a big bridge and a tunnel just below the Sanjauli market. This tunnel will be about one kilometer long.
Rs 2070 crore is to be spent on this entire project. Apart from this, the approval of the four-laning of Shimla-Mataur, two-laning of Mandi-Pathankot, and one-lane from Shakral to Dhalli is still awaited.
In fact, Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu has deployed additional officers in matters of forest clearance. These officers of the Forest Department are playing their role in speeding up the cases of forest clearance.
NHAI regional officer Abdul Basit has said that with the help of the state government, the work of converting the national highway into four lanes has picked up the pace.
Forest clearance stuck on Kalka-Shimla NH for four months has now been released after the intervention of the Chief Minister. Work has started from Kanthlighat to Shakral. (hdm)
The 207-meter-long tunnel will be built in Kandaghat
The tunnel at Kandaghat on the Kalka-Shimla National Highway will be 207 meters longer. Earlier this length was 460 meters. It has now been increased to 667 meters. 75 percent work on this tunnel has been completed.
Earlier it was said that there was a problem due to the water tank coming in the way of the tunnel, but NHAI has now cleared the whole situation and has also talked about completing the construction of the tunnel on time.
Kiratpur-Nerchowk NH will be completed by May 15
The work of the Kiratpur-Nerchowk National Highway is almost complete and it is going to be inaugurated soon. People will now take less time to reach Manali from Chandigarh. Along with this, the inflow of tourists will also increase.
It is said to complete the construction by May 15. The distance from Kiratpur to Nerchowk will be reduced by about 37 km. Earlier this distance was 114 km. More than 36 thousand saplings will also be planted along the entire route.