Srinagar, May 11: After years of delays, landslides and repeated weather-related disruptions, work on the most vulnerable Ramban-Banihal stretch of the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway is finally gathering pace, with key tunnel and viaduct sections likely to open before the annual Amarnath Yatra in July.
Officials said one tube of the strategically important Digdol-Panthiyal twin-tube tunnel and a 1.9-kilometre portion of the Sherbibi-Ramsoo elevated corridor will open to traffic during the yatra to ease movement on the treacherous highway stretch.
“We are very much on track, and the 3.08-kilometre south-bound tube towards Jammu will be operational by the time the Yatra commences,” NHAI Project Director Shubham Yadav told Greater Kashmir.
He said the north-bound tube towards Srinagar, measuring 2.6 km along with an additional 0.619-km section, will open later.
The nearly 5.7-km Digdol-Panthiyal four-lane twin-tube tunnel is being constructed at a cost of Rs 866.37 crore and aims to bypass the accident-prone Khooni Nallah stretch, notorious for landslides, shooting stones and traffic disruptions.
Yadav said around 1.9 km of the under-construction 6.02-km Sherbibi-Ramsoo viaduct will also be operational before the Yatra.
He said two viaduct portions – an 800-metre stretch and another 1100-metre stretch-are being readied for traffic.
“Work on the remaining viaduct portions, overhead bridges and flyovers is going on,” Yadav said.
Officials associated with the project said the remaining portions of the Sherbibi-Ramsoo elevated corridor could be completed by December 2026 if work progresses steadily.
“Otherwise, completion may spill into 2027,” an official said.
According to figures presented to the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly during the recent Budget session, the Digdol-Panthiyal tunnel project has achieved 85.50 percent physical progress and 84.43 percent financial progress.
The revised completion deadline was fixed as April 30, 2026.
“The 6.02-km Sherbibi-Ramsoo viaduct has achieved 44.50 percent physical progress and 44.33 percent financial progress and is scheduled for completion by December 31, 2026,” the government had said.
It attributed delays in both projects to landslides, flash floods, adverse weather, traffic congestion, geological challenges and right-of-way issues.
However, another major component of the Ramban-Banihal highway expansion – the 4.38-kilometre Marog-Digdol four-lane twin-tube tunnel – remains far from completion, with only around 25 percent physical and financial progress achieved so far.
The tunnel comprises a south-bound tube toward Jammu and a north-bound tube toward Srinagar.
It includes an additional 0.6-km section, bypassing 5 km of existing road and treacherous spots.
Officials said the tunnel could be completed by December 2027 if work progresses smoothly.
“If the pace remains steady, it can be completed by the end of 2027. Otherwise, the project could continue into 2028,” an official said.
The government, however, has fixed June 30, 2027, as the revised completion deadline.
Delays were attributed to work stoppages, local hindrances, slow contractor progress, unseasonal rains and delayed mobilization of machinery and manpower.
Officials said the Ramban-Banihal corridor remains the most fragile portion of the Srinagar-Jammu highway because of steep Himalayan terrain, unstable slopes and recurring landslides.
The Banihal-Ramban highway expansion project initially relied heavily on hill cutting after work began in 2015.
However, repeated slope failures, landslides and shooting stone incidents later forced authorities to abandon much of the earlier excavation-based alignment and redesign the project around tunnels, viaducts, flyovers, suspension bridges and overhead bridges.
The redesigned alignment aims to bypass vulnerable stretches including Khooni Nallah, Battery Morh, Cafeteria Morh, Panthiyal, Marog, Makarkote, Digdol, and Ramsoo.
Officials said much of the earlier excavation lacked proper geological and environmental assessment and slope stabilization measures.
“Over 50 percent excavation work had been completed in more than six years. Much of the cutting destabilised the slopes and aggravated landslide activity,” an official said.
He said abandoning large portions of the earlier excavation model and redesigning the alignment caused further delays, but this became necessary for safer all-weather connectivity.
The Ramban-Banihal project was initially executed by HCC, Gammon India and Chaudhary Power Projects Limited (CPPL).
Most of the remaining work is now being carried out by Ceigall India Limited.
The project suffered another major setback during 2025 after repeated spells of heavy rain, cloudbursts and flash floods damaged road stretches and disrupted construction activity across Ramban and Banihal sectors.
The highway remained shut for more than three weeks in April last year after landslides and washouts damaged several stretches.
Fresh mudslides and flash floods again disrupted traffic during August and September.
The prolonged closures badly hit supplies and transport to Kashmir.
Hundreds of fruit-laden trucks carrying apples remained stranded for days, causing massive losses to the horticulture sector.
Officials said mitigation measures have since been strengthened.
Around 2.2 km of tunnel and viaduct works at identified sliding zones in the Dalwas sector were completed in December 2025.
The Srinagar-Jammu National Highway four-laning project was divided into six sub-projects: Srinagar-Qazigund (67.7 km), Qazigund-Banihal (15.25 km), Banihal-Ramban (36 km), Ramban-Udhampur (44 km), Chenani-Nashri (9.2 km) and Jammu-Udhampur (65 km).
Officials said all major sub-projects have already been completed and opened for four-lane traffic except the remaining Ramban-Banihal sector, which continues to face delays because of difficult terrain and ongoing tunnel and viaduct works.
Launched in 2011, the four-laning project was originally targeted for completion within five years.
Once completed, it is expected to reduce the Srinagar-Jammu travel distance by nearly 50 km and cut travel time from around nine hours to nearly four hours.
It is also expected to bypass several treacherous highway stretches that frequently remain blocked due to landslides, falling stones, and flash floods.
