Banihal, Dec 31: Completion of the four-lane project on the critical Ramban–Banihal stretch of the Jammu–Srinagar National Highway will take nearly two more years, NHAI Project Director Shubham Yadav said, as he reviewed the extensive damage caused by repeated spells of heavy rainfall, cloudbursts and flash floods that severely disrupted the highway throughout 2025.
Notably, the year 2025 has proved to be the most disastrous in recent times for the Jammu–Srinagar National Highway, as repeated spells of heavy rainfall, cloudbursts and flash floods caused extensive damage to life, property and critical road infrastructure.
The natural calamities, particularly during April, July and August, not only claimed several lives in Ramban district but also severely impacted the strategic highway, disrupting connectivity for weeks at a time.
Due to extreme weather conditions, the Jammu–Srinagar National Highway remained closed between Udhampur and Banihal for at least 25 days during 2025, while the movement of goods and fuel-laden vehicles was suspended for an even longer period. Heavy rains and flash floods in April and August caused massive damage in the Udhampur, Ramban and Banihal sectors. Several stretches of the road and bridges between Chenani and Udhampur collapsed, while frequent landslides and falling rocks repeatedly disrupted traffic movement.
Following torrential rains in the last week of August, the national highway was completely shut for all kinds of traffic for nearly 20 days.
Following continuous repair works and safety measures undertaken by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), the Udhampur–Banihal stretch has now been fit for two-way traffic for the past nearly two months, providing major relief to thousands of daily commuters, tourists and truck drivers.
Speaking on the condition of the highway, Project Director, NHAI Headquarters Ramban, Shubham Yadav told greater Kashmir that the damages caused during the April and August rains have largely been addressed now and uninterrupted two-way traffic has been operational for nearly two months. He said that most of the highway between Udhampur and Banihal has already been upgraded to four lanes. However, work is still underway to four-lane a 15-kilometre stretch between Ramban and Banihal, which includes the construction of two tunnels and a viaduct project.
According to Yadav, the 3.5-kilometre-long four-lane tunnel between Digdool and Pantiyal is expected to be completed by March 2026, while the 4.5-kilometre-long tunnel between Maroog and Digdool is likely to be completed by the end of 2027. He further informed that the 6.5-kilometre-long viaduct (flyover) between Ramsoo and SherBibi is expected to be completed by December next year.