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 10-km express bypass from Zirakpur to Parwanoo on Thursday. The bypass, cutting through the Shivaliks, is part of the 27.5 km expressway project between the two towns on NH-5. 

Road transport and highways minister C P Joshiopened 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 kilometers, NHAI officials said the bypass will 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 as per a TOI report.

To improve connectivity to the Himachal Pradesh capital, Joshi also announced that NHAI would undertake four-laning work of the 80-km stretch from Parwanoo to Shimla. NHAI officials said this improvement work would be completed in three years. 

"Pinjore had been the biggest nightmare for commuters. The road is only two-laned and there is huge traffic. Though people have to pay toll for using the expressway, they can cross this stretch in just 10-15 minutes," said an NHAI official. Commuters need to pay Rs 21 as toll for each trip on this stretch. 

The Himalayan Expressway, built by the Jaypee group, passes through three states -- Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. The road runs two kilometers in Punjab, 21 km in Haryana and 4.6 km in Himachal. The small stretch has 32 structures including a rail overbridge, two flyovers and 11 bridges. 

"It was a difficult stretch to build. We have constructed high retaining walls, concrete cladding up to 30 meters high to save the houses and rock fall protection measures," said a Jaypee executive. 

For better monitoring of mishaps, the developer has adopted video incident detection system (VIDS). It claimed that eight cameras had been installed on the hilly stretch so that they got instant input of any accident from these spots. 

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