Banihal/Jammu:The two-hour-long first trial run of vehicular traffic through the double-tube four lane Banihal-Qazigund tunnel along the 270-km Jammu-Srinagar National Wighway was conducted successfully. The 8.5-km-long tunnel, built at a cost of Rs 21,00 crore in 10 years, is at present going through the testing and commissioning process and is likely to become operational in coming weeks, official said on Thursday.
It will bypass the Jawahar Tunnel and Shaitan Nalla, which is prone to heavy snowfall and slippery conditions during winters and results in a bottleneck in the strategically important road linking Kashmir to the rest of the country. The first trial run from both sides was conducted successfully from 4 pm to 6 pm on Wednesday, Muneeb Tak, Chief Manager of Navayuga Engineering Company, which began working on the tunnel in June 2011 said.
The tunnel's operationalisation would reduce the distance between Banihal in Jammu province and Qazigund in south Kashmir by 16 km. Deputy Superintendent of Traffic, National Highway, Shemsher Singh said no disruptions were faced during the trial run as the movement of traffic from both sides remained smooth.
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The Navayuga company officials said the trial run would continue on alternate days and the timing might also be extended without interfering with the ongoing work. On June 6, Tak had said the company was engaged in the testing commissioning process after the installation of all required equipment including ventilation and electric system.