Enhanced connectivity and safer travel along National Highway-07 received a major boost with the inauguration of the newly constructed bowstring bridge over the Markanda river at Khajurna in Sirmaur district. Built at a cost of nearly Rs 20 crore, the 180-metre-long bridge has been opened to traffic and is expected to significantly improve transportation for local residents, tourists and commuters travelling between Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
Vehicular movement has commenced on the new bridge, which is expected to support future four-laning plans on NH-07 while improving traffic flow, road safety and regional connectivity.
Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari was scheduled to inaugurate the bridge virtually. However, technical issues disrupted the virtual connection shortly after he joined the programme, preventing him from formally dedicating the project to the public.
Following the interruption, Shimla MP and BJP leader Suresh Kashyap inaugurated the bridge in the presence of district administration and National Highways officials.
Addressing the gathering, Kashyap said the bridge would ensure safer, smoother and faster vehicular movement along the busy highway corridor. He noted that the ambitious project, which began in 2022, was completed in nearly three years and has now been dedicated to the public. He credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Minister Nitin Gadkari for accelerating infrastructure development across Himachal Pradesh through sustained policy support and investment.
Highlighting the scale of highway development in the state, Kashyap said 35 National Highway projects worth approximately Rs 22,190 crore, covering around 545 kilometres, were currently under execution. He added that between 2014-15 and 2025-26, around 160 National Highway projects spanning nearly 10,160 kilometres were completed in Himachal Pradesh at a cost of Rs 14,172 crore.
Referring to other major projects in his parliamentary constituency, the MP said work on the Kalka-Shimla four-lane highway was progressing rapidly, while the Paonta Sahib-Shillai-Fedizpul Green Corridor National Highway project, being developed at a cost of
Rs 1,426 crore, was nearing completion. He also informed that Rs 205 crore had been sanctioned under the Central Road and Infrastructure Fund for the Dehri-Purjga road project.
Sirmaur Deputy Commissioner Priyanka Verma, Additional SP Yogesh Rolta and other senior officials were present on the occasion.
