J-K highway to remain close for four hours till Sept 27 for maintenance

In order to do repairs in several landslide-prone regions, the Jammu-Srinagar national highway will remain closed to traffic for four hours every day till September 27, according to officials.

According to the directive given by chief secretary A K Mehta, traffic would be stopped from 3 am to 7 am while repairs are being made.

To carry out urgent repairs on shooting stone-prone NH-44 stretches by NHAI, including Cafeteria Morh-Mehad, the chief secretary called for a four-hour halt of traffic for a period of five days from Friday, they said.

Mehta urged the police to make sure that the trucks carrying fruit along the route moved smoothly.

Additionally, he requested that the double laning and subsequent black topping of some areas between Banihal and Ramban be finished within ten days.

The chief secretary emphasised the need to remove as few barriers as possible from transportation during the five days and instructed officials to only halt traffic at night, when it is light and sparse.

He urged officials to investigate various scientific techniques, such as the application of GPS technology and others, in order to improve traffic management and acquire equipment for road safety.

The meeting was informed that the purchase of 213 bicycles—one for each police station—110 Royal Enfield bicycles, 23 cranes, 20 mobile vehicle interceptors, and 16 highway patrol vehicles was finished, and that their conversion for specialised usage is currently underway.

They said that it was also stated that an amount of ₹152 lakh is being spent on acquiring of other traffic equipment.