Changing City: New tunnel on Kalka-Shimla highway to bring the hills closer
Tourists heading to Kufri, Naldehra, Mashobra, Narkanda, Theog, and Rohru will no longer need to enter Shimla.
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The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI)’s Kathlighat-Dhalli bypass is an ambitious project aimed at decongesting the traffic volume inside Shimla city, which serves as a gateway to the upper reaches of Shimla. (Express Photo)A major milestone has been achieved in the construction of the Kathlighat-Dhalli bypass on the Kalka-Shimla National Highway-5, as the two ends of one of the four tunnels being built have successfully connected. The approximately 705-metre-long tunnel, named Shungal after the nearby village, is the left tube of a twin-tube tunnel starting from Kathlighat, located 37 km from Shimla.
“When the two ends of a tunnel meet successfully, we call it a ‘breakthrough’. The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI)’s Kathlighat-Dhalli bypass is an ambitious project aimed at decongesting the traffic volume inside Shimla city, which serves as a gateway to the upper reaches of Shimla. Although work on the three other tunnels is still ongoing and commuters must wait to use them, the eventual relief will be significant: commuters will no longer need to navigate the heavy volume of loaded trucks and JCB machines used in the construction of the bypass. All of the contractor’s heavy machinery will pass through this 705-metre-long tunnel,” an NHAI officer told The Indian Express.
The NHAI officer further explained, “People, especially tourists heading to Kufri, Naldehra, Mashobra, Narkanda, Theog, and Rohru from Punjab, Delhi, and Chandigarh via the Kalka-Shimla highway, currently have to pass through Shimla before proceeding further. Once the Kathlighat-Dhalli bypass is complete, they will reach Dhalli while bypassing Shimla. The distance between Shimla and Dhalli is 8.03 km. The longest of the four tunnels, approximately 2.06 km long, is being constructed near Sanjauli on the Kathlighat-Dhalli bypass. The construction of these tunnels has also saved thousands of trees from being axed. The entire bypass will reduce the distance by at least 30 km.”
The heavy volume of traffic, especially during peak tourism season and when apples are being transported from upper Himachal to lower areas, has always been a matter of concern. The pressure from the influx of vehicles, particularly loaded trucks, often causes massive traffic jams in Shimla. SP Shimla, Sanjeev Gandhi, noted, “The upcoming tunnels on the bypass will definitely reduce the traffic pressure on Shimla city.”
Anand Dhayia, Project Director of NH-5 Kalka-Shimla, added, “A toll is proposed only once all the tunnels are ready and dedicated to the general public. People travelling from the Kalka side will not pay the toll; it will only apply to commuters using the Kathlighat-Dhalli bypass. The Kathlighat-Dhalli bypass project is part of the larger Kathlighat-Sakral four-laning project, worth Rs 1,844 crore. Of this, Rs 90 crore has been spent on the Shungal tunnel.”
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