With government’s focus being on connectivity, the road infrastructure of India has seen transformative growth in the past years and shall also see the same in upcoming years. With many High-tech highways and expressways are now being constructed in the country.
Himachal Pradesh to Build 68 Tunnels on Highways, Enhancing Connectivity and Reducing Travel Time
These include 8-lane, 4-lane and elevated expressways. The special thing about these expressways is that they are equipped with many other facilities like an automatic toll system. In Himachal Pradesh, an 85 km long four-lane road will be made underground.
Necessary approvals from the central government and the environment ministry for the same have been received by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI). Many tunnels will be constructed on this 85 km-long highway.
68 tunnels shall be constructed on various highways in Himachal Pradesh by NHAI. Out of these, work on 11 tunnels has already been completed while work on 27 tunnels is still in progress. More than 50% of the detailed project report for the construction of these four-lane highways has already been completed.
Last year, due to heavy rain disaster in the state of Himachal Pradesh, the Kiratpur-Manali highway in Kullu and Mandi was heavily damaged. In addition, Pathankot-Mandi and Pinjore-Nalagarh were also affected by the disaster.
Following the damages on these highways, NHAI received suggestions to construct tunnels after surveying the highways. On these suggestions, the NHAI has made preparations to convert most of the four-lane highways through tunnels.
Upon the tunnel construction, the distance of all four-lane roads in the state will be reduced by 126 km and the travel time of passengers will be reduced by 13 hours. In addition to this, traffic will not be affected due to snowfall and rain in Himachal.
In Himachal, construction work is underway on Pathankot-Mandi, Kalka-Shimal, Shimla-Mataur, Kiratpur-Manali and Pinjore-Nalagarh national highways. 68 tunnels are being constructed on these highways. Of these, 28 tunnels are planned on the 41 km long Kiratpur-Manali highway.
Mumbai Inaugurates Longest Underground Road with Advanced LED Tunnels
Speaking of the state of Maharashtra, former Chief Minister Eknath Shinde inaugurated the longest underground road within the city of Mumbai in March. With a length of 3.93 kilometres, the Mumbai Coastal Road Project comprises two tunnels leading from the Princess Street Flyover to Priyadarshani Park.
The project posed special challenges in the design and execution of tunnel lighting. Equipped with advanced LED technology and intelligent control systems, the tunnels ensure excellent visibility, safety and energy savings.
