Banihal Tunnel

Jawahar Tunnel also called Banihal Tunnel or Banihal Pass is a road tunnel in Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. Named after the first Prime Minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru, it was constructed for round-the-year surface transport between 1954 and 1956. The Jawahar tunnel has been operational since 22 December 1956. The length of tunnel is 2.85 km (1.77 mi). It has one lane road in either direction. It is situated between Banihāl and Qazigund on NH 1A that has been renumbered NH 44. The tunnel facilitates round-the-year road connectivity between Srinagar and Jammu.

The tunnel was renovated by the Border Roads Organization under the project BEACON in 1960. It was designed for 150 vehicles per day in each direction but the number of vehicles is now 7,000 in both directions. After renovation, the tunnel now has a two-way ventilation system, pollution & temperature sensors, lighting system and with emergency phones for any assistance installed from Border Roads Organization.

It is guarded by military round the clock. Photography or videography inside or nearby the tunnel is strictly prohibited. Once the vehicle enters the tunnel, it has to maintain the same speed throughout the tunnel. CCTVs are installed in the tunnel for continuous monitoring.

Until 2009 the tunnel was closed for civilian traffic between midnight and 08:00. It is now open all 24 hours a day.

A new higher capacity, all-weather tunnel (Banihal Qazigund Road Tunnel) has been dug in May 2018 and is expected to reduce the traffic through the Jawahar tunnel when opened for traffic in 2019.

Text imported from Wikipedia article "Jawahar Tunnel" and modified on July 23, 2019 according to the CC-BY-SA 4.0 International license.