The World’s longest highway tunnel ,the Atal Tunnel at Rohtang , at an altitude of over 3,000 meters((10,000 meters) is ready to open which is constructed by Border Road Organization
In the time of India China clash off near LOC, this tunnel will be crucial to our army to transport Defence forces in a prolonged standoff.
This tunnel has been completed at a cost 3200 crore against the sanctioned budget of Rs.4,083 crore and inaugurated by prime minister Narendra Modi.
This tunnel is named after late former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee ,the 9.02 long tunnel passes under the Rohtang pass in eastern pir panjal range on the leh-Manali highway.
It will reduce the distance between Manali in Himachal Pradesh and Leh in Ladakh by 46 kilometers and save over four hours of travel time.
Project chief engineer K P Purushotam said electrical and mechanical works inside the tunnel were working fine. He also added “We are happy to complete the tunnel at a cost of 3,20 crore”.
This tunnel is a engineering marvel in the Himalayas at an altitude of 10,040ft and already set of the record of being the longest motorable tunnel in the world.
Engineers are re-testing the automated lighting and ventilation systems, fire hydrants, pumps, phones and various sensors for fitting inside the tunnel before the inauguration.
There are fire hydrants at every 60 meters, emergency exit tunnels at every 500 meters, turning cavern every 2.2km and air quality monitoring every 1km, Besides the emergency telephone booths at regular intervals, there is a broadcasting system and automatic incident detection system with CCTV cameras every 250 meters.
The tunnel , which is 10.5 meters wide and has a height of 5.52 meters, has a footpath of 1 meters on both sides. With a maximum speed of 80kmph, the tunnel is expected to see traffic of 3,000 cars and 1,500 trucks a day.Also Read :
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