The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) has achieved a major milestone in the construction of a 440-m tunnel below the densely populated Chambatown on the Rishikesh-Dharasu road (NH 94) in Uttarakhand. In a statement on Tuesday, it announced the achievement, which is part of efforts to boost the annual Chardham yatra.
“Breakthrough and perfect linkup of construction teams from north and south portals was accomplished amid challenges of COVID-19 and restrictions due to the nationwide lockdown,” the BRO said. Work on the north portal began in January 2019 but work on the south portal could commence only after October 2019 after land compensation and safety of houses above the tunnel were satisfactorily resolved.
Attending the ceremony through video-conference, Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari said the latest Austrian technology had been used in the construction of the Chamba tunnel. The tunnel will be opened for traffic by October 2020 — three months ahead of its scheduled date of completion. The six-km road and the tunnel are being constructed at a cost of ₹88 crore.
Under the Chardham project costing about ₹12,000 crore, the BRO is constructing 250 km of the national highways leading to the holy shrines of Gangotri and Badrinath. Five projects are slated for completion by October 2020, the BRO added.
