Kashmir Impulse Desk

Srinagar, July 1

The Centre will open two key infrastructure projects on the strategic Srinagar-Jammu National Highway ahead of the annual Amarnath Yatra, Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Wednesday, as authorities seek to improve year-round connectivity to Kashmir by bypassing one of the region’s most vulnerable landslide zones.

The projects – an 810-metre viaduct near Ramsoo in Ramban district and the 3.5-km AT-03 tunnel linking Digdole and Panthyal – have been built at a combined cost of Rs 680 crore and are scheduled to be opened to traffic on July 3, coinciding with the start of the 57-day Amarnath Yatra.

The new infrastructure forms part of the ongoing widening and modernisation of the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway, the Valley’s only all-weather road link with the rest of the country and a critical corridor for civilian traffic, military logistics and the movement of essential supplies.

Announcing the completion of the projects, Gadkari said the tunnel and viaduct bypass one of the most landslide-prone sections of the Ramban-Banihal corridor, an area frequently disrupted by heavy rainfall, shooting stones and slope failures that have repeatedly cut off Kashmir from the Jammu plains.

“The projects will provide safer, faster and all-weather connectivity to the Kashmir Valley while significantly improving travel efficiency,” the minister said.

He said the infrastructure would reduce travel time, improve commuter safety and facilitate smoother movement of pilgrims, tourists, local residents, defence convoys, freight vehicles and essential commodities.

The highway serves as Kashmir’s economic lifeline, carrying most of the Valley’s imports and exports, including horticultural produce. Frequent weather-related closures have long posed logistical challenges and economic losses, prompting the government to invest heavily in tunnels, viaducts and slope-stabilisation works across the corridor.

Officials said the newly completed structures are expected to strengthen the resilience of the highway network by reducing dependence on road sections historically susceptible to disruptions during adverse weather.

The projects are being commissioned days before thousands of pilgrims begin travelling to the Amarnath cave shrine in south Kashmir. Authorities have stepped up preparations for the annual pilgrimage, with enhanced security, traffic regulation and infrastructure measures along both the Pahalgam and Baltal routes.

Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha welcomed the completion of the projects, describing them as another milestone in improving Jammu and Kashmir’s road infrastructure.

In a message posted on social media platform X, Sinha thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Gadkari for expanding road connectivity in the Union Territory and said the new tunnel and viaduct would ensure smoother and safer movement for residents, tourists, freight traffic and security forces.

He said the projects would also facilitate safer travel for pilgrims undertaking this year’s Amarnath Yatra by allowing traffic to avoid stretches historically affected by landslides.

The Lieutenant Governor said the investments reflected the government’s broader efforts to modernise transport infrastructure in Jammu and Kashmir while supporting tourism, trade and regional economic development.

The Srinagar-Jammu National Highway has undergone extensive upgrading in recent years through a series of tunnel and bypass projects aimed at improving reliability on a route that has traditionally remained vulnerable to weather-related disruptions, particularly during the monsoon and winter months.