Srinagar, Feb 07: The Jammu and Kashmir government on Saturday said connectivity has remained a top priority, resulting in the completion and execution of major road infrastructure projects that have significantly improved access and reduced travel time across the Union Territory.
The government said expressways, national highways, ring roads, tunnels and bridges have either been constructed or are currently under construction in different parts of Jammu and Kashmir.
With a total investment of Rs 61,528 crore, work is underway on one expressway—the Delhi–Amritsar–Katra Expressway—along with five national highways and two ring roads for the cities of Jammu and Srinagar.
The government said construction work is in progress on 11 tunnels, of which three—Chenani–Nashri (9 km), Qazigund–Banihal (8.45 km) and the Sonamarg Tunnel (6.5 km)—have already been completed. The 14.15-km Zojila Tunnel and several other national highway tunnels are currently under execution.
It said the completion of the Delhi–Amritsar–Katra Expressway will reduce travel time from Delhi to Jammu to about six hours and to Katra to around seven hours. With the four-laning of National Highway-44, travel time between Srinagar and Jammu has been reduced from 7–12 hours to about 4.5 hours.
The government also said the Narbal–Shopian–Surankote road has been declared a National Highway, strengthening all-weather connectivity across the Pir Panjal region.
It said 19 new National Highway projects with an estimated cost of Rs 10,637 crore have been sanctioned for 2025–26. These include key projects such as the Pir Ki Gali Tunnel, Sadhna Tunnel, Lal Chowk–Parimpora Flyover and Magam Flyover, aimed at easing congestion and improving urban mobility.
Under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), the government said 2,132 habitations have been connected and 19,518 kilometres of roads completed as of March 2025, significantly improving rural connectivity. A further 2,500 unconnected habitations have been sanctioned under Phase-IV of PMGSY.
It said under Phase-I, 316 road projects covering 1,781 kilometres, with an estimated cost of Rs 4,224.37 crore, have been approved by the Government of India and are expected to connect 429 habitations, moving the Union Territory closer to the goal of providing road access to every village.
Rural connectivity has also been strengthened through NABARD’s Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF). Since 2019–20, 1,161 road and bridge projects costing Rs 5,271 crore have been sanctioned, while over 2,387 kilometres of roads were completed during the period 2020–25, the government said.(KNS).
