The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) has unveiled plans to construct a four km-long, double-lane road in Uttarkashi district.
This road will serve as a crucial connection to the Gangotri National Highway and play a pivotal role in bypassing the challenging 21-km section known as Sukki Top.
This section of the highway is notorious for its steep inclines, often causing inconvenience to vehicles traversing it.
Once completed, the new road will not only reduce the distance to the Gangotri shrine, one of the Char Dhams, by approximately 10 km but also facilitate smoother movement for military convoys heading towards the India-China border in Nelong Valley.
The project is currently in the detailed project report (DPR) preparation phase, with construction expected to commence next year. It will be an integral part of the broader Char Dham all-weather road project.
To connect the existing highway with the bypass, a bridge over the Ganga-Bhagirathi River will be constructed on the route to Sukki village. The other end of the bypass will ultimately link up with the highway near the Jhala bridge, reports Economic Times.
The Sukki Top segment of Gangotri NH is susceptible to subsidence and landslides. Previous proposals to alleviate the challenging terrain included building a tunnel and modifying sharp bends; however, these ideas were discarded due to unsuitable topography.
Instead, the BRO decided to construct a bypass route on the opposite side of the existing highway, a choice validated by technical surveys.
Moreover, there are worries that several villages, including Sukki, Jhala, Jaspur, and Purali, will face isolation once traffic starts using the new bypass road, potentially affecting their livelihoods, particularly those dependent on tourism.