Traffic suspended on Jammu-Srinagar highway for road widening work

Jammu, Mar 10 (PTI) Traffic movement on the 270-km Jammu-Srinagar national highway remained suspended on Sunday morning as authorities were carrying out road widening work on several problematic stretches in Ramban district, officials said.

Vehicular movement on the only all-weather road linking Kashmir with the rest of the country was suspended late Saturday night to allow the widening of the carriageway to two lanes at Dalwas, Mehar-Cafeteria, Panthiyal and Nachlana between Nashri and Banihal tunnels, they said.

The traffic department officials said the decision to suspend traffic on the highway for 14 hours from 10 pm on Saturday was taken to ensure the safety of commuters as landslides, mudslides and shooting of stones have damaged the road at over a dozen places in Ramban, prompting the authorities to restrict the traffic to one-way on the highway since February 26.

With traffic plying alternatively from Srinagar and Jammu for the past fortnight, travellers have been facing massive snarls, especially in Dalwas, Mehar and Nachlana.

“The road widening work is in progress at many places on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway. People are advised not to undertake journeys between Nashri and Navyug (Banihal) Tunnel till the restoration work is completed,” a spokesperson of the department said.