The National Highway Development Project (NHDP) was formed with a view to develop the various National Highway Corridors to four or six lanes for safe and efficient movement of traffic. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has been entrusted to develop, maintain and operate these corridors either through its own budgetary sources or loans from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the World Bank. Accordingly, NHAI has taken up project preparation of certain stretches on the North-South and East-West corridors in phases. Package V was proposed to run as a parallel alignment to the existing NH-1A (currently NH-44) between Banihal Town and Qazigund Bypass with a length of about 15.25 km, as against 32.70 km of the existing NH-1A. The project has been implemented on DBFOT (annuity) mode. Chinta Sridhar, Managing Director, Navayuga Engineering, shares more on the innovations and approach that led to successful completion of the project. Scope of work The scope of work involved a tunnel – twin tubes of each being 8.45 km length; construction of two new major bridges; construction of six new minor bridges; construction of 20 new culverts; and construction of one road underbridge (RUB). The Pir Panjal mountain range basically separates the Jammu province from the Kashmir valley. It is divided by Jhelum River on the northern side and the Chenab River basin on the southern side. Many minor streams, including Bichlari River, cross the four-lane alignment, which crosses the mountain range through the 8,450-m twin-tube tunnel. The main features of the tunnel also included a functional cross section of 66.919 sq m; a vertical clearance of 5 m; electrical and mechanical systems for fresh air, smoke extraction and pollution control; a SCADA system; and a fire-fighting system. A highly experienced project team was deployed to supervise all activities, from excavation to final commissioning of the tunnel. Despite many constraints and issues with law and order and unrest, the concessionaire was successful in commissioning and operating the project. Reducing travel time and other benefits This project of national importance is also essential for security and strategic reasons and to augment the ongoing Jammu-Srinagar Highway, which is…For full version, CLICK HERE