Rs 2,200cr highway to bring Shimla closer to Chandigarh by 45 mins

SHIMLA: The journey to the "Queen of Hills" will become less taxing in about three years from now. A 90-km four-lane express highway planned between Parwanoo (near Chandigarh) and Shimla will shorten the distance to the hill station by 17km, cutting down average travel-time from Chandigarh by 45 minutes.

The newly constructed Himalayan Express highway between Chandigarh and Shimla has already reduced the travel-time to three hours.

The National Highways Authority of India ( NHAI) has prepared a project report for the planned highway, which will cost about Rs 2,200 crore. As per the project plan, large-scale demolition of commercial and residential buildings will be avoided.

NHAI project director Satish Kaul said all the formalities had been completed and the agency was just waiting for the no objection certificate and forest clearance for the land identified.

"We have decided to complete the project in three years," Kaul said, adding, "...The project will be started as soon as the land is handed over."

The highway will start from Banasar village near Parwanoo and terminate at the Mashobra-Kufri junction near Dhalli in Shimla. It will have four rail overhead bridges to bypass rail tracks and five tunnels.

The bridges will be constructed at Koti, Barog bypass, Chambaghat and Kaithlighat. One 1.4-km-long tunnel, which will be the longest on the route, will be built at Kaithlighat. The other tunnels will come up between Kaithlighat and the Mashobra-Kufri junction.