Opened last year, Himachal highway stretch caves in

Two vehicles were damaged in the collapse. The Shimla-Kalka highway will remain closed until further notice.

Local residents travelling on the route said the road had shown signs of degradation in the past few days before caving in on Thursday.

A S Khural, project director of NHAI, said, “We received information that a portion of the highway collapsed due to rain and at the moment, we are ascertaining the process of restoration. Consultations are being carried out, following which we can determine a timeline before it is functional. Construction was carried out in 2018 and the project was inaugurated last year. The cause behind the collapse will be determined in detail.”

Highway authorities said the project was completed on the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) model by GR Infraprojects. Engineers and infrastructure experts have been called from Delhi who will be examining the road structure. Officials are yet to come up with a timeline for the road to become functional but said it could take up to weeks.

The 39.14 km four-lane stretch between Parwanoo and Solan is part of the 90-km Shimla-Parwanoo project that was conceptualised to reduce travel time from Delhi, Punjab, and Chandigarh.

The project began in 2015 and ran into several delays, including a tribunal order halting construction, and the unavailability of labourers during the pandemic among others.

The Solan stretch was inaugurated via virtual mode by Minister of Road, Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari in June last year. The stretch connects to a four-lane road towards Shimla.

Travellers can now take the Shamlech bypass road or the route through Barog to travel further. Since the regular route is impacted, there could be congestion and delays.