Srinagar, Feb 7: The Jammu and Kashmir government on Saturday said connectivity remains a top priority, with major road infrastructure projects completed or underway across the Union Territory, significantly improving access and reducing travel time.
The government said expressways, national highways, ring roads, tunnels, and bridges have either been completed or are currently under construction in various parts of J&K. With a total investment of ₹61,528 crore, work is underway on one expressway—the Delhi–Amritsar–Katra Expressway—along with five national highways and two ring roads in Jammu and Srinagar.
Construction is in progress on 11 tunnels, of which three—Chenani–Nashri (9 km), Qazigund–Banihal (8.45 km), and the Sonamarg Tunnel (6.5 km)—have already been completed. The 14.15-km Zojila Tunnel and several other national highway tunnels are currently under execution.
The government said the Delhi–Amritsar–Katra Expressway will reduce travel time from Delhi to Jammu to about six hours and to Katra to nearly seven hours. It added that four-laning of National Highway-44 has cut travel time between Srinagar and Jammu from 7–12 hours to around 4.5 hours.
The Narbal–Shopian–Surankote road has also been declared a National Highway, improving all-weather connectivity across the Pir Panjal region.
The government said 19 new National Highway projects worth ₹10,637 crore have been sanctioned for 2025–26. These include the Pir Ki Gali Tunnel, Sadhna Tunnel, Lal Chowk–Parimpora Flyover, and Magam Flyover, aimed at easing congestion and improving urban mobility.
Under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), 2,132 habitations have been connected and 19,518 kilometres of roads completed as of March 2025, significantly boosting rural connectivity. An additional 2,500 unconnected habitations have been sanctioned under Phase-IV of PMGSY.
The government said under Phase-I, 316 road projects spanning 1,781 kilometres, at a cost of ₹4,224.37 crore, have been approved by the Government of India and are expected to connect 429 habitations.
Rural connectivity has also been strengthened through NABARD’s Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF). Since 2019–20, 1,161 road and bridge projects worth ₹5,271 crore have been sanctioned, while over 2,387 kilometres of roads were completed between 2020 and 2025, the government said. (Agencies)
