Project Director National Highway Authority of India (NHAI), Parshutam Kumar said that the work on the 270 Kms long strategic Jammu-Srinagar National Highway (NH44) is expected to be completed by the end of 2026. Akashvani Jammu Correspondent reports that the commuting on Jammu-Srinagar national highway has improved a lot with completion of work on several tunnels and four-lane portions but people will have to wait till end of the year 2026 when the work on the highway will be completed. The road connectivity is being improved with each passing day and the travel time between the two capital cities of Jammu and Srinagar have been reduced to six hours. The Jammu-Srinagar National Highway is the lifeline of J&K where everyday thousands of vehicles commute between Srinagar and Jammu and vice-versa. Besides being used by locals of J&K the highway is being used by security convoys, tourists, pilgrims and truckers carrying goods thus making it one of the busiest roads in the country. The four-lane road is being built at a cost of Rs 16 thousand crore and out of this four laning of 210 km route has been completed, including 10 tunnels of 21.5 km and several crucial bridges and one Ramban Viaduct. There are still five to six major parts where the work is undergoing and will take some more time to get completed. These areas include Banihal town bypass stretch, Ramsu to Khari-link road stretch and beyond, Khooni Nallah to Digdol tunnel, Digdol to Makarkoot tunnel and one stretch near Ramban town, which are taking some more time. One portion near Dalwas is also under construction and a bridge is being constructed there to make it suitable for traffic. The work on one of the two important tunnels is expected to be completed by June 2025 whereas work on another tunnel will take some more time and is expected to be completed by December 2026