Both ends of Kandaghat tunnel on Solan-Kaithlighat stretch meet

A major breakthrough was achieved in the excavation of the 667 m tunnel at Kandaghat with both its ends meeting today. The tunnel is part of the four-laning project being executed on the Solan-Kaithlighat stretch of the National Highway 5 by ARIF Engineers on behalf of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).

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The original length of the tunnel was 460 m and its construction cost was pegged at Rs 59.80 cr. Its length was, however, increased by 207 m, thus raising its cost by Rs 54.84 crore.

This two-lane tunnel will provide passage both to the uphill and downhill traffic. This is the second tunnel to be constructed on the Parwanoo-Solan-Kaithlighat section in the ongoing four-laning work.

Presence of a massive water tank had forced the agency to alter the alignment of the tunnel at Kandaghat. The new alignment had not only delayed the work by over a year but it had also increased the project cost by Rs 54.80 crore as additional length of 207 m was added to the tunnel length.

The tunnel has been carved using the New Austrian Tunneling Method which uses the surrounding soil to strengthen the tunnel structure. It's also known as the sequential excavation method or sprayed concrete lining method.

NHAI Project Director Anand Dahiya informed that a few more months would be spent on completing the work on the 207 m added length of the tunnel.

The work to widen the 22.91-km stretch on the Kalka-Shimla highway was assigned to the construction company by the NHAI in December 2018. It was supposed to be completed by June 2022, but since some major works, including the construction of flyover and tunnel, were not completed, its deadline was revised several times.

Ownership dispute between the Forest Department and some locals at Kaithlighat resulted in delayed acquisition of a chunk of land. Similarly, ownership dispute at Kandaghat delayed the construction of the tunnel.

This is the third phase of the National Highway Development Project on the Kalka-Shimla highway, which when completed, will reduce the journey time considerably.