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{{Short description|Road tunnel in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir connecting Banihal and Qazigand}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=March 2018}}
{{Infobox tunnel
|name =Banihal Qazigund Road Tunnel
|image_size =
|caption =Left side tube of tunnel from North portal of Banihal Qazigund Road Tunnel
|coordinates =
|route = [[File:NH44-IN.svg|20px|link=|alt=C2]] [[National Highway 44 (India)|NH 44]]
|status = {{Green|Active}}
|start = [[Qazigund]]
|end = [[Banihal]]
|startwork = 2011
|close =
|owner =[[National Highways Authority of India]]
|operator =[[National Highways Authority of India]]
|traffic = Automotive
|engineer=
|toll = {{Purple|Qazigund Toll Plaza}}
|vpd =
|construction =
|length = {{convert|8.45|km|ft|abbr=on}}
|lanes = 2 Lanes per Tube<br />(4 Lanes total in Twin-Tube with [[Dual carriageway]])
|speed ={{convert|70|km/h|mph|abbr=on}}
|hielevation = {{convert|1790|m|abbr=on}}
|height =
|width ={{convert|7|m|ft|0}}
|grade =
|opened=4 August 2021|location=[[Jammu and Kashmir (union territory)|Jammu and Kashmir]], [[India]] {{flagicon|India}}|image=Banihal Qazigund Road Tunnel.png}}
'''Banihal Qazigund Road Tunnel''' is a [[road tunnel]] in [[Jammu and Kashmir (union territory)|Jammu and Kashmir]], India. It is located in the Lower Himalayas, on [[National Highway 44 (India)|National Highway 44]]. Its Construction started in 2011 and was completed in 2021.

It is one of the longest tunnel in India, with a length of {{cvt|8.45|km}} The tunnel reduces the distance between [[Srinagar]] and [[Jammu]] by 16 km.<ref>{{cite news
|url=https://auto.hindustantimes.com/auto/news/allweather-tunnel-linking-jammu-and-srinagar-in-kashmir-to-be-open-soon/amp-41623044041231.html?espv=1 |title=All-weather tunnel linking Jammu and Srinagar to open soon. All you must know |access-date=10 June 2021}}</ref> It also reduces travel time from 2–3 hours to 15 minutes.<ref>{{Cite web|title=J-K: 8.5 Km Qazigund-Banihal tunnel in final stage of construction, to open soon|url=https://www.aninews.in/news/national/general-news/j-k-85-km-qazigund-banihal-tunnel-in-final-stage-of-construction-to-open-soon20210612103315/|access-date=2021-08-05|website=ANI News|language=en}}</ref>

It is a Twin tube tunnel consisting of two parallel tunnels - one for each direction of travel. Each tunnel is {{cvt|7|m}} wide and has two lanes of road. The two tunnels are interconnected by a passage every {{cvt|500|m}} for maintenance and emergency evacuation. The tunnel will have forced ventilation for extracting smoke and stale air and infusing fresh air. It will have state of the art monitoring and control systems for security. Built at a cost of ₹2,100 crore, it is expected that vehicles will have to pay a toll to use the tunnel.<ref>{{Cite news |agency=PTI| date=2018-05-20 |title=NHAI in race to get crucial J&K tunnel ready ahead of avalanches |language=en-IN |publisher=[[The Hindu]] |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/nhai-in-race-to-get-crucial-jk-tunnel-ready-ahead-of-avalanches/article23944065.ece |access-date=2021-08-08 |issn=0971-751X}}</ref>

==Construction==

Construction of this tunnel started in 2011 along with the project to widen [[National Highway 44 (India)|NH 44]] (which was known as [[National Highway 1A (India, old numbering)|NH 1A]] before all the national highways were [[List of National Highways in India by highway number|renumbered]] in the year 2010) to four lanes. The existing road tunnel below the Banihal pass ([[Jawahar tunnel]]), has been a bottleneck on the road due to its elevation of {{convert|2194|m|abbr=on}} and limited traffic capacity. The new tunnel's average elevation at 1,790 m is 400 m lower than the existing [[Jawahar tunnel]]'s elevation, which would make it less prone to avalanches. After completion, the tunnel has reduced the road distance between Banihal and Qazigund by 16 km (10 mile).

* As of May 2016, 7.2 km of the 8.5 km had been excavated.<ref name=GovNow>{{cite web|url=http://www.governancenow.com/news/regular-story/tunnels-hope-in-valley | title=Tunnels of Hope in Valley, Governance Now |accessdate=19 February 2017}}</ref>
* As of February 2017, the tunnel excavation was close to completion.<ref name=GKTunnels>{{cite web|url=http://www.greaterkashmir.com/news/front-page/highway-travel-set-to-ease-nashri-tunnel-opening-this-month/242456.html | title=Tunnel openings |accessdate=4 March 2017}}</ref>
* February 2018: Boring work of one tunnel had been completed.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.greaterkashmir.com/news/state/tube-1-of-banihal-qazigund-four-lane-tunnel-completed/274288.html|title=Tube 1 of Banihal-Qazigund four-lane tunnel completed | Greater Kashmir}}</ref>
* May 2018: Boring of the entire 8.5 km tunnel was completed on 20 May 2018.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.kashmirtimes.in/newsdet.aspx?q=79343|title=Banihal-Qazigund road tunnel opening likely next year: NHAI - Kashmir Times|website=www.kashmirtimes.in}}</ref>
* Jan 2019:Tunnel may open for traffic by March 2020.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.greaterkashmir.com/news/kashmir/concern-8-years-on-work-on-qazigund-banihal-tunnel-far-from-over/|title=CONCERN: 8 years on, work on Qazigund-Banihal tunnel far from over | Greater Kashmir}}</ref>
* November 2019: Work progressing at slow pace; tunnel to be opened for traffic in March 2021.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.dailyexcelsior.com/qazigund-banihal-tunnel-to-miss-5th-deadline/|title=Qazigund-Banihal tunnel to miss 5th deadline|first=Daily|last=Excelsior|date=24 November 2019}}</ref>
*25 February 2021:Tunnel likely to thrown open for traffic in April 2021<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://thekashmirimages.com/2021/02/25/qazigund-banihal-tunnel-being-thrown-open-in-march/|title='Qazigund-Banihal tunnel being thrown open in March'}}</ref>
* 5 April 2021: opening delayed until end of April 2021.<ref>{{cite news |title=Opening of Qazigund-Banihal tunnel delayed from March end to April end |url=https://kashmirreader.com/2021/04/05/opening-of-qazigund-banihal-tunnel-delayed-from-march-end-to-april-end/ |access-date=22 April 2021 |work=Kashmir Reader |archive-url=https://archive.today/20210422020706/https://kashmirreader.com/2021/04/05/opening-of-qazigund-banihal-tunnel-delayed-from-march-end-to-april-end/ |archive-date=22 April 2021}}</ref>
* Jun 2021: Tunnel is almost ready, could be made operations in few weeks.
*July 2021: Tunnel could be inaugurated on the independence day by Prime Minister [[Narendra Modi]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/infrastructure/8-5-km-all-weather-qazigund-banihal-hi-tech-tunnel-likely-to-be-operational-in-coming-weeks/videoshow/83440266.cms|title = 8.5 km all-weather Qazigund-Banihal hi-tech tunnel likely to be operational in coming weeks}}</ref>
*August 2021: Tunnel was opened by [[Ministry of Road Transport and Highways|Road Transport and Highways Minister]] [[Nitin Gadkari]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Auto News India, Car and Bikes News, Launch, Price, Features, Reviews|url=https://auto.hindustantimes.com/|access-date=2021-08-05|website=Hindustan Times Auto News|language=en}}</ref>

==Location==
The Southern portal (end) of the tunnel is at {{coord|33.4895|75.1729|scale:500|display=inline}} and the Northern portal (end) of the tunnel is at {{coord|33.5646|75.1867|scale:500|display=inline}}.

==Safety measures==

The tunnel is made on [[Build–operate–transfer]] basis. It is built with an exhaust system to remove gas and bring in fresh air. It has 126 jet fans, 234 [[CCTV cameras]] and a firefighting system installed.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.wionews.com/india-news/85-km-all-weather-qazi-gund-banihal-tunnel-to-open-for-public-in-days-390601|title = 8.5 km all-weather Qazi Gund-Banihal tunnel to open for public in days}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Jawahar Tunnel]]
* [[Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee Tunnel]]
* [[Chattergala Tunnel]]
* [[Zoji-la Tunnel]]
* [[Z-Morh Tunnel]]
* [[Pir Panjal Railway Tunnel]]
* [[National Highway 44 (India)|NH 44]] (former name [[National Highway 1A (India, old numbering)|NH 1A]] before [[List of National Highways in India by highway number|renumbering]] of all national highways)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

[[Category:Road tunnels in Jammu and Kashmir]]
[[Category:Road infrastructure in India]]
[[Category:Road tunnels in India]]
[[Category:Ramban district]]
[[Category:Anantnag district]]

Banihal Qazigund Road Tunnel - Revision history

UpdateBot at 01:19, 26 June 2022