New Delhi: In good news for commuters, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is all set to construct a tunnel along the Jaunpur-Lucknow national highway (NH-19) in Varanasi. While the authorities have already worked on the detailed project report, discussions are ongoing regarding the blueprint. The construction of the tunnel will start from April next year.
Notably, while the required land for the project has already been marked, the decision has also already been taken regarding the length of the approach road as well as the tunnel. According to officials, the tunnel will be constructed at a span of 600 metres. Authorities are also constructing an additional 2.09 km of road, which is also part of the mega project.
New route to start from Pure Raghunath Singh village
The new route will start from Pure Raghunath Singh village and end at Siswan village. Once the road comes up, it will pass through three villages in the Greenfield corridor. While the government will require approximately 10.59 hectares of land for the project, the construction of the project is being built at an estimated cost of Rs 362 crore.
Expansion of runway project
Also, the major aspect of the project involves expanding an airport runway, which will be built close to the tunnel. During the construction of the tunnel, engineers will also adopt blast-proof technology to ensure safety. Steps will be taken to protest both the tunnel as well as the runway. The Airport Authority has been approached to fund this part of the project.
Sharing further details, authorities added that a 15 km elevated road will also be constructed, starting from Chowkaghat to the Ring Road along the Varuna River. The new road will also help commuters going to Varanasi. However, this will affect a park in the Cantonment Board area and also require a No Objection Certificate (NOC). A meeting regarding this will be held to finalise the alignment.
