Jammu and Kashmir is undergoing rapid transformation with new road and rail infrastructure underway. National Highway 44 is a major project poised to revolutionise the region’s transport sector, with completion expected by 2026.
A video now going viral, however, purports to show National Highway 44 open for business. Reverse searching keyframes from the viral clip led us to a YouTube video from September 20, 2024, titled “Aizhai Bridge — Hunan, China Road”. While not the same video, this clip appears to feature the same bridge. In this video, Chinese text can also be seen written on the tower.
Using a keyword search, we found a detailed report in The Guardian published in 2012, according to which, this is the world’s highest and longest tunnel-to-tunnel bridge, located in central China.
The Aizhai suspension bridge spans 1,176 metres, linking two tunnels and carrying traffic 355 metres above the Dehang Canyon. Construction began in October 2007, with the main sections completed by the end of 2011. The Guardian report includes many pictures.
The Aizhai Bridge is situated in Jishou City, within the Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, and was built as part of the express way linking Chongqing Municipality in south-west China to Changsha, the capital of Hunan. We also checked for information on NH44, which is a multi-state highway connecting 11 states from Srinagar to Kanniyakumari. It links major cities such as Agra, Delhi, Hyderabad, and Bangalore. There are many tunnels and bridges along NH44 in Jammu and Kashmir. You can read the detailed report from the PWD about road development in Jammu and Kashmir here.
