Traffic disrupted for several hours on Jammu-Srinagar NH. Here's why

The traffic on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway was disrupted for several hours on Sunday to repair some cracks that were found in the middle of the road near Banihal, officials said.

The vehicular movement on the 270-km highway – the only all weather road linking Kashmir with the rest of the country – was stopped from both sides around 11.30 am after “some cracks developed in the middle of the road at Hingni in Ramban district, " officials of the traffic department said.

After over five-hours of restoration work, the stranded traffic on the highway was restored, they said.

The highway is witnessing frequent disruptions over the past five days owing to heavy rains that triggered landslides, mudslides and shooting stones from the hillocks at several places including Mehad, Gangroo, Kishtwari Pather and Dalwas between Nashri and Banihal Tunnels – the most problematic stretch of the arterial road.

The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI), however, managed to keep the highway open by ensuring timely clearance of landslide debris.

The highway is being upgraded to four-lane and the work on the project has been going on since 2011. The work which included a number of small and major tunnels, bridges and flyovers is likely to be completed by next year after missing several deadlines over the past decade.

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