Four-laning of Lakhanpur-Jammu highway nears completion

Four-laning of Lakhanpur-Jammu highway nears completion
Archit Watts
Tribune News Service

Lakhanpur/Jammu, August 28
The four-laning of the 91-km-long Lakhanpur-Jammu National Highway (1-A) is nearing completion.

The Central government’s project to reduce traffic snarls on the Lakhanpur-Kathua-Samba-Jammu National Highway, which was started in 2005 by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), has entered the final stage and traffic signals are being installed on the highway.

“The four-laning of the highway is almost complete. Even bridges have been repaired. A large number of vehicles ply on this route, so we don’t want to leave any work incomplete. The entire work will be completed within a month or two,” said MK Jain, in-charge, NHAI, Jammu and Kashmir.

He added that all the new and old bridges, except one or two, had been opened for commuters.

Jain added that the road was carpeted right from the main gateway of the state at Lakhanpur to Jammu and dividers were also installed. “We have entered the final stage under which we are installing the traffic signals,” added Jain.

No obstructions were found on the highway. However, near the railway overbridge at Samba, the road had not been widened.

Replying to a question about the delay in the progress of work on this particular stretch, a senior officer of the NHAI said, “We have taken up the matter with the Railway authorities and are waiting for the clearance. As we get the sanction, the work would be started.”

The highway is the only trade link with the rest of the country. Pilgrims to the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine and the Shri Amarnath cave shrine also enter the state via the highway.

The NHAI officers said a huge amount was spent and now they would focus on the four-laning of the 312-km-long Jammu-Srinagar National Highway.