According to SSP Traffic (Highway) Sanjay Kotwal, the highway was closed due to heavy snowfall at Jawahar Tunnel and Patnitop areas since last night.
Over 400 passenger vehicles were stranded at different places after police closed down the 300-km long highway, which is a major road link connecting Kashmir with rest of the country.
Border Roads Organisation (BRO) officials have deployed machines to clear the highway of snow, officials said.
Kotwal said continuous snowfall is hampering clearance operations in stretches of Banihal Tunnel and Batote-Patnitop-Kud areas on the highway.