This new highway promises Chandigarh to Manali drive a breeze
Driving from Delhi to Manali will take no more than 10 hours from June 15. Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said that the key four-lane highway project between Kiratpur and Manali is almost complete. The highway will be opened for public use from June 15. Earlier it used to take 14 hours to cover the distance between the national capital and the popular hill station in Himachal Pradesh through Chandigarh. The highway will also reduce travel time between Chandigarh and Manali to just six hours.
According to the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), the new highway will reduce the distance between Chandigarh and Manali by around 40 kms. Earlier it used to take around 10 hours to travel between the two places. The NHAI has also made several tunnels along the new four-lane highway to ensure smooth traffic flow and avoid risks of frequent rock falls and landslides en route.
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The existing road between Kiratpur, located in Rupnagar district in Punjab, and Ner Chowk, part of Mandi district in Himachal Pradesh, stretches for around 115 kms. One of the most congested part on this road is the stretch between Swarghat and Bilaspur. This 38-km stretch often takes an hour or more for vehicles to cross due to slow movement and heavy traffic.
The new highway will reduce the distance of this entire section from 115 kms to just 77 kms. This will include at least five tunnels and more than 30 bridges. Union Minister Nitin Gadkari shared images of the highway construction work on these stretches. It shows the tunnels and the bridges constructed along the way.
The Pandoh bypass, another crucial section on this highway, is already complete. The 35-km stretch connects the bypass to Takoli and was one of the most treacherous sections on Kiratpur-Manali national highway (NH3). This section includes 10 tunnels, elevated viaduct and more than 10 bridges. The 30-km stretch between Mandi and Aut, which also includes a flyover near Aut, is also completed. This section will ensure smooth traffic between Mandi and Kullu.
The highway will have several amenities including medical facilities like ambulances available for commuters. The NHAI has also installed high-tech CCTV cameras, vehicle speed displays, video incident detection system among others. A separate control centre has also been set up at toll plaza.
