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To get rid of the traffic congestion on Shimla city roads, the Himachal Government is all set to construct an 890 meters double lane tunnel from Nav-Bahar near the Petrol Pump to Circular Road near Indira Gandhi Medical College (IGMC), Shimla beneath the Jakhu hill. 

Presiding over a meeting of the Public Works Department (PWD), Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said the tunnel would be constructed with an outlay of Rs. 295 crore out of which Rs. 100 crore has already been released and tender process will begin by the end of this month.

Sukhu said that the State Government was making earnest efforts to address the problems of Shimla city, providing relief to the locals as well as the tourists visiting the Queen of hills. He directed the PWD to remove all the bottlenecks on the circular road to ensure a smooth flow of vehicular traffic. To achieve the goal, the process of land acquisition will commence within one week. He said that Rs. 122 crore has been allocated for the widening and strengthening of circular road. He said that parking infrastructure would also be ramped up as soon as a parking facility for an additional 3000 vehicles would be developed.

The Government is also mulling eliminating hanging wires in Shimla with a project to construct underground ducts for electricity, cable and optical fibre. In the initial phase of this project, Rs. 23 crore would be spent with a focus on heart of the city viz: Mall Road, Lower Bazar and Middle Bazar areas. He directed the PWD to ensure quality work in all its projects.

Public Works Minister Vikramaditya Singh, MLA Harish Janartha, Principal Secretaries Devesh Kumar and Dr. Amandeep Garg, Secretary to the Chief Minister Rakesh Kanwar, Engineer in Chief PWD N.K. Singh, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests Rajiv Kumar and other senior officers were present in the meeting.