Srinagar-Jammu National Highway disasters: Experts call for immediate engineering audits

9 July 2023

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Srinagar, July 9: The Srinagar-Jammu national highway witnessed a major damage between Tunnel T-3 and T-5 in Panthyal area on Saturday, when about 30-40 meters of road caved in due to rainfall. Additional landslides at Sherbibi near Banihal also blocked the road, leaving about a whopping 6000 vehicles stranded on both the sides.

The disruption stranded hundreds of passengers yet again on the highway – including the Amarnath Yatra pilgrims, putting them at inconvenience and resulting in loss of precious time to travellers.

Even as the Srinagar-Jammu national highway has seen major qualitative improvements in the last few years, especially with the Navyug, Qazigund-Banihal and other tunnels, observers see the road sinking near the recently-opened tunnels on the highway as a particularly worrying development.

Ziraat Times reached out to several highway engineering experts and former engineers, who have been responsible for maintaining this road, to understand the genesis of these challenges and what must be done to create a reliable highway without these frequent accidents and disturbances. Here is what the experts have to say:

Genesis of the current problems:

“There is no denying the fact that the region through which the Jammu-Srinagar highway passes is characterized by steep slopes, unstable rock formations and geological fault lines. These geological challenges make the area prone to rockfall and landslides, posing a significant risk to the stability of the highway. But, considering the shoddy work that has been done on the highway at several locations, we need an urgent engineering audit”, said Raman Kumar, who has been leading a major project in the building of the Konkan Railways.

“Something is wrong somewhere. Either the work is being done without proper site or risk assessments, or work is being done in a hurry. We need to find the genesis especially now that the road has sunk in near the tunnel”, Mr Kumar adds.

However, other experts think that the existing contracting system, which places a lot of emphasis on lowest quoted bids, is the root cause of the problem.

“A project of such national importance cannot be built with a lowest-quote bidding approach. This road needs high quality work, it needs 360 degree risk assessment and high-quality construction, and that would require more financial resources”, said Dinesh Gupta, a former engineer, who has worked on the road’s maintenance previously.

However, there is another viewpoint that blames insufficient maintenance and monitoring on the frequent disruptions on the highway.

“See, our past experience has taught us that adequate maintenance and regular monitoring are crucial to address the geological challenges and mitigate risks on the highway. However, if maintenance practices are inadequate or monitoring systems are not in place or functioning optimally, it can lead to delays in identifying potential hazards and implementing necessary measures”, said Muhammad Nawaz, a retired civil engineer.

Deficiency of sustainable engineering solutions:

Delving deeper, there are other experts who believe that the fundamental problem with the Srinagar-Jammu highway is that its expansion is not based on sustainable engineering solutions that can withstand the geological and weather challenges of the region.

“Our experience also teaches us that use of modern slope stabilization techniques, rockfall protection systems, and erosion control measures are crucial. These need to be incorporated during the construction and maintenance phases. The problem is that all this is not being done properly, and that it would require much more investment, added Mr Nawaz.

The Srinagar-Jammu highway serves as a crucial transportation route for the region, and with increasing population pressure and development activities, there is a higher number of vehicles plying on the road with each passing year. However, rapid and often haphazard expansion and development have disrupted natural drainage patterns along the highway, increasing the vulnerability of slopes, and exacerbating the risks of soil erosion and landslides.

“Ideally, the highway needs a board for its development and maintenance, which should include NHAI, district administrations, geological agencies and disaster management authorities”, observes Naveen Kumar, a retired geologist based in Jammu city.

The way forward:

Experts, while calling for an engineering and safety audit for the highway, exhort the introduction of latest and durable mountain road construction techniques and technologies adopted in countries like the US, Canada, Sweden, and Norway.

Mechanized Rock Bolting, which involves using mechanized equipment to install rock bolts in mountainous terrain, ensuring stability and safety, and Geosynthetic Reinforced Soil (GRS) Structures and Slope Stabilization Techniques like slope scaling, rockfall protection systems, and erosion control measures, used in countries like the US and Canada, are a must to enhance the stability this road”, says Faheem Ahmed Magray, who has specialised in mountain highway engineering.

“In the past this highway has seen use of some innovative engineering techniques like those used at Shaitan Nallah and Khooni Nallah. We need to reintroduce Rockfall Protection measures such as catchment fences, drapery systems, and rockfall barriers, to minimize the risk of falling rocks and debris on mountain roads”, says Mr Faheem.

Importantly, the foundations of the road passing through water channels or disturbed waterways have to be created with a lot of engineering detail. That detail is missing right now, resulting in incidents like these, Mr Faheem adds.

While the NHAI and construction companies have lately embraced Tunneling Technology in a good way on the highway to avoid cutting through unstable mountain slopes, Reinforced Slope Protection is said to be still not much in practice on the road.

“Reinforced soil walls, soil nailing, and shotcrete applications must be employed to stabilize slopes and prevent erosion on this road” he adds.

Experts also opine that a time has come when an Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS), of the likes used in countries like Sweden, should be integrated into NH-44 road management system, which should include weather monitoring systems, real-time traffic information, and smart traffic management solutions.

However, highway expert Raman Kumar believes that unless comprehensive rockfall mitigation systems are not put in place on the highway through a larger investment, regular incidents would be hard to avoid.

“It is high time that construction companies put more focus on rockfall barriers, rock catchment fences, and embankment stabilization techniques to ensure better safety on this road. Hurry is not a solution, durable engineering solutions are. And our country has no dearth of talent to do so. We have delivered so many challenging projects before. Now we need to raise the bar”, concluded Mr Raman.