Border Road organisation(BRO) has succeeded in  constructing first tunnel  beneath Chamba city on Rishikesh-Gangotri Highway in the Garhwal hills of Uttarakhand. The 440 metre construction being done with the help of  Australian technology  has reached the final stage and it will be opened for traffic as soon as the  decoration  work completes  here.

It several shops and buildings  were to be demolished under the  Char Dham all weather road  project  in order to avoid the demolition the   central government had given the green signal to build a tunnel under the chamba city market to protect the building and shops from breaking down. BRO started tunnel work in January 2019 using the latest Australian technology.

The construction agency faced immense challenges due to continuous water drainage problem towards the side of  Mathiyana village  during tunnel excavation which led to  appearance of cracks in several buildings above but despite all such challenges  BRO has succeeded in completing the tunnel construction work successfully and has now begun giving finishing touches to the project.

The painting works along with illuminating the tunnel with LED lights is on presently for safe traffic and pedestrian movement at the footpath being constructed here. The railings are being installed at the both sides of the road inside the tunnel so that the free flow of traffic is maintained. Once the tunnel is opened for traffic the vehicles that crossed through the Chamba Bazaar will be diverted on Uttarkashi-Gangotri routes through this tunnel thus helping to avoid any traffic congestion.

The pilgrim’s vehicles   on their way to Gangotri will be able to cross without any hindrance. “The work on the Rs 40 crore tunnel project is on the verge of completion. The decoration and lighting work inside the tunnel is on and once it is completed,  the tunnel will be opened for traffic hopefully in the beginning of next year” said Ashu Rathore chief engineer BRO. He pointed out that the pavement quality concrete is being used  in the construction of the road inside the tunnel  to reduce the trebling  due to traffic movement. Separate drains are being made for the drainage of water from the tunnel to avoid any water logging he added.