The 39-km Parwanoo-Solan stretch of the Chandigarh-Shimla National Highway-5 had suffered extensive damage due to continuous heavy rain and landslides in the recent past. The damage was caused mainly because the hills were vertically cut for the construction and expansion of the highway due to limited availability of land.
The damage to the highway was aggravated in the absence of paved shoulders, which would have made water move away from the road before infiltrating into its base. Paved shoulders increase the life expectancy of the road surface.
