SONAMARG TUNNEL: AN ENGINEERING MARVEL DRIVING CONNECTIVITY, TOURISM, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, AND ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY

Abstract

The Sonamarg Tunnel is a high-altitude road infrastructure project that is intended to be built on National Highway 1 (NH-1) in Jammu and Kashmir, and to help ensure reliable access to Sonamarg throughout the year, as well as help to strengthen the Srinagar-Ladakh corridor. The aim of the study is to assess the integrated engineering and regional development intervention of the tunnel by analyzing the connectivity it creates, the tourism and economic opportunity it offers and how it impacts on environmental sustainability. Methods: 104 fully completed questionnaires were received and were supplemented by official project and tourism data, and peer-reviewed literature, between July 29 and August 6, 2026, and a mixed-evidence design was used. Frequencies, percentages, means, and standard deviations were used in the analysis of the questionnaires, which were also given internal consistency testing, one-sample testing against the neutral midpoint, and Spearman correlations. Thematic coding of the open-ended responses was also applied. Results: Respondents showed slightly positive connectivity and service benefits (M = 3.21, SD = 0.98, alpha = .89) that were significantly higher than the neutral point (p = .033). Tourism-development perceptions were also positive but more tentative (M = 3.21, SD = 1.12, alpha = .92, p = .065), while economic-development perceptions were closer to neutral (M = 3.11, SD = 1.03, alpha = .89, p = .273). The overall benefit-cost judgement was mixed (M = 3.02), while the most popular was related to tunnel lighting, signage, ventilation and emergency arrangements (M = 3.41). Traffic, safety, security and emergency management were the most frequent topics of open ended responses. Conclusion: The questionnaire indicates measurable and perceived benefit on connectivity and selected service outcomes, but it also reveals that benefits of tourism, economy and environment are not even. Traffic control, maintenance, local benefit capture, monitoring of the environment, and open post-opening traffic reporting are essential to long term success.