Ramban, September 15: A recently built 400-meter long Maroog tunnel known as New Tunnel 1 (NT1) as well as a 250-meter viaduct that leads to NT1 Maroog tunnel on the Ramban-Banihal part of the four-lane project were opened for two-way traffic on a trial basis on Friday. This took place on the Ramban-Banihal segment of the four-lane project.
An engineer from the business Chenab Valley Power Projects Pvt Ltd (CVPPL), which was hired by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) to do construction work, said that the work on the National Highway 1 (NT1) was finished, and the highway was opened for traffic in both directions.
According to him, all of the traffic is going via the brand-new tunnel that was just built.
According to the engineer, earth excavation and road extension work had also begun in Maroog on a section of two-lane road that was previously aligned with the new road alignment.
The new tunnel Maroog was used to reroute traffic in the Kelamorh region on Thursday evening, according to the authorities in charge of monitoring the management of traffic in that region.
Despite this, the relevant authorities in this location have not yet made an official announcement about it.
Following the realignment of the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway, the construction of the 400-meter tunnel and the 250-meter viaducts at the famed Sita Ram Passi, Maroog in Ramban ensured the protection of life and property for those travelling along the route.
Maroog has been a nuisance for locals, cars, and commuters for many years, with numerous road blockades, incidences of firing stones, vehicle breakdowns, and traffic jams on the curving and narrow ancient two-lane road alignment being an everyday occurrence.
Additionally, the viaduct would assist to reduce the number of accidents.
On the other side, Tunnel T2 at Kelamorh was temporarily blocked for all kinds of traffic, and as a result, all of the traffic had to be rerouted along the old alignment of the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway at Kelamorh. This was due to construction work that was being done on the tunnel.
According to the authorities from NHAI, Tunnel T2 in Kelamorh has been blocked because of some ongoing construction.
Mussarat Islam, the Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Ramban, is personally overseeing the current works on a number of different national projects in the Ramban district. These projects include the four-laning of the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway and the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) project.
In the meanwhile, construction on the extra two lanes of the Ramban flyover is virtually finished as the last girder was successfully installed on the last two piers on the Udhampur-Ramban portion of the highway. Jamia Masjid Ramban is located in the area.
According to engineers working for the construction business that was hired to do the job, the very last and very last girder linking the 1.8-kilometer-long Ramban bridge was successfully placed.
They said that the work that needed to be done was limited to the slab and other superstructure components, and they anticipated that the remaining work would be finished within the allotted amount of time.
The building work on the 1.8-kilometer long, two-lane Ramban viaduct that was erected at a cost of Rs 140 crore was finished in July 2023. The bridge is located on the Udhampur-Ramban segment of the highway and cost Rs 140 crore to build.
It was opened up for regular traffic as well as the Amarnath Yatra.
