A viral video (here and here) on social media shows a bridge under construction, situated in a mountainous area with towering pillars and a partially completed road. The video claims that the bridge is part of National Highway 14 (NH14), connecting Jammu, Srinagar, Leh, and Ladakh. The striking visuals show the bridge extending along the edge of a mountain, with only pillars visible on one side. Let’s investigate the truth behind this claim.
Claim: Visuals showing the construction of a large bridge on the edge of a mountain are part of NH14, connecting Jammu, Srinagar, Leh, and Ladakh.
Fact: The bridge shown in the visuals is not part of NH14 but rather a part of the G6911 Anlai Expressway in China. This expressway, spanning 446.26 kilometres, connects Ankang in Shaanxi Province to Laifeng in Hubei Province, passing through Chongqing. Hence, the post is FALSE.
To verify the claim, we conducted a reverse image search on Google and found a similar visual in a Facebook post on 4 November 2024 by “Civil Engineering Help.” The post identifies the location as Chongqing’s Fengjie County in China. Another Facebook page, “Mike China Vlog,” shared the same video on 22 August 2024, captioning that the G6911 Anlai Expressway connects Ankang in Shaanxi to Laifeng in Hubei, passing through breathtaking landscapes, including Chongqing. It highlighted the expressway as a scenic route linking cultural treasures.
Further research led us to a YouTube channel named “Son of China,” which posted a video on 12 July 2024. The video shows the intersection of the Shanghai-Chengdu Expressway and the Anlai Expressway in Fengjie, China. It provides a wider view of the bridge under construction, showing completed sections and its connection to another bridge.
The Anlai Expressway (G6911), also known as the Ankang-Laifeng Expressway, spans 446.26 kilometres. It begins at the Huangyanghe Interchange of the Shitian Expressway in Hanbin District, Ankang City, Shaanxi Province, and concludes at the Laifeng Interchange in Laifeng County, Enshi Prefecture, Hubei Province.
On the other hand, the National Highway 14 (NH14) is a crucial road entirely within West Bengal, spanning 306 kilometres. It begins at the NH-12 junction in Morgram (Murshidabad district) and passes through significant regions such as Rampurhat, Siuri, Raniganj, Bankura, Garbeta, and Salbani and it ends at the NH-16 junction near Kharagpur, this clearly indicates that NH14 does not extend to Jammu and Kashmir or connect to areas like Ladakh, making it an intra-state highway in West Bengal. Previously, Factly has also debunked similar claims (here, here and here) regarding misidentified highways.
To sum up, visuals of a Chinese expressway have been falsely shared as NH14 in Jammu and Kashmir.
