Under-construction tunnel to cut short Jammu-Poonch distance in J&K

Jammu: The distance on strategic Jammu-Poonch national highway will be cut short by around ten kilometres after the commissioning of an approximately 3-km long under construction tunnel at Chowki Choura in Jammu district of J&K.
“The three-km long tunnel will cut down the distance between Akhnoor to Sunderbani (Jammu-Poonch NH) by ten kilometres,” official sources said.
They said that the tunnel is being constructed under the supervision of Border Road Organisation (BRO) on the lines of Chenani-Nashri tunnel at Udhampur on Jammu-Srinagar national highway at the cost of worth Rs 500 crore.
They said that the travellers, especially those often moving between Jammu-Rajouri districts, will be highly benefited with the infrastructure as the tunnel will cover the hilly belt starting from village Kanidi in Chowki Chaura (NH-144A) at Akhnoor and the tube will exit at Ramini Mankhia Godar (few kilometres short of Bhambla).
“The construction work of the tunnel at Chowki Chaura in Akhnoor between Jammu-Poonch four-lane highway is in full swing,” said an official.
Notably, the demand for expansion of Jammu-Poonch highway and construction of a tunnel was cleared by the Union Minister for Roads and Transport Nitin Gadkari.
The official said that a period of three years has been fixed for the construction of the tunnel and once completed the distance will be reduced by ten kilometres and the people need not to pass by hilly and curvy road.
DDC Member, Mera Mandrian, Chowki Choura, Suresh Sharma told UNI, “presently it takes 30 to 40 minutes to reach Chowki Choura from Akhnoor and around one-hour to reach Bhambla but with completion of ‘Sungal Tunnel’ (Chowki Choura), it will take 25 to 30 minutes to reach these destinations.”
“As it is a hilly and curvy road, during monsoon, landslides also causes inconvenience to the travelers but the tunnel will give respite to the travelers,” he stated.
The DDC member said that as per the executing agency, the tunnel is expected to be commissioned by January 2024.
“The people of the area will benefit a lot with the construction of the tunnel,” he said, adding that people from Chowki Chaura and Sunderbani often travel both sides to attend duties and many those who are dealing in trade.
With commissioning of the tunnel, they will be able to reach their destinations in a short time and apart from Jammu-Poonch, the tunnel will also benefit many Panchayats of Akhnoor, Chowki Chaura and Rah Salot, Bhambla” he added.
He also revealed that another short distance tunnel ‘Kandi Tunnel’ is also being constructed simultaneously that will connect at Nonath and further to Chowki Choura.
“The construction work on both the projects are in full swing and will be completed by this yearend or by January 2024,” said the DDC member.
UNI