21.4.12

The Himalayan Expressway



Shimla-bound tourists can now avoid congested Kalka and Pinjore towns and save at least an hour on their road trips with the opening of a 10km express bypass from Zirakpur to Parwanoo on Thursday. The bypass, cutting through the Shivaliks, is part of the 27.5km expressway project between the two towns on NH-5. Road transport and highways minister C P Joshi opened the four-lane Himalayan Expressway that will bring huge relief to commuters, who often face long snarls at Kalka and Pinjore. Though the stretch will reduce the distance between Zirakpur and Parwanoo by only three kilometres, NHAI officials said the bypass would save time and fuel in a big way. Rough estimates suggest that tourists driving down from Delhi would now take seven hours to reach Shimla instead of eight. 
 To further improve connectivity to the Himachal Pradesh capital, Joshi announced that the highways authority would undertake four-laning of the 80km stretch from Parwanoo to Shimla. NHAI officials said this improvement 
work would be completed in three years.Commuters need to pay Rs 23 as toll for each trip on this stretch. 
 The Himalayan Expressway, built by the Jaypee group, passes through three states — Punjab, Haryana 

and Himachal. The road runs two kilometres in Punjab, 21km in Haryana and 4.6km in Himachal. The small stretch has 32 structures including a rail overbridge, two flyovers and 11 bridges.
 For better monitoring of mishaps, the developer has adopted video incident detection system (VIDS). Eight cameras have been installed on the hilly stretch which allows them instant input of any accident from these spots.Moreover, the 14-lane toll plaza at Zirakpur became the first plaza with radio frequency identification (RFID) technology where all the toll gates have RFID tag readers. In the next few months, all the toll plazas on Delhi-Parwanoo stretch would get this facility. Highways minister C P Joshi said all toll plazas on NHs would be brought under this this technology in the next two years. Commuters can pass through all e-toll plazas using a single RFID tag. Vehicles fitted with the RFID tags won’t have to wait in queues as the boom barrier would automatically lift as soon as the vehicle approaches. The devices installed at each toll gate can read the RFID tag from a distance. Jaypee officials said the tag used on Zirakpur-Parwanoo stretch can also be used on their already completed Yamuna expressway connecting Greater Noida with Agra. An RFID tag is like a band aid, which can be attached to the windscreen of a vehicle. The maximum price of such devices is only Rs 100.

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