Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the world’s longest highway tunnel, named Atal Tunnel, on Saturday. The 9.02km tunnel connects Manali to Lahaul-Spiti valley.
With this tunnel, now the two sides will remain connected throughout the year unlike earlier when the valley was cut off for about 6 months owing to heavy snowfall. The Tunnel is built with ultra-modern specifications in the Pir Panjal range of Himalayas at an altitude of 3000 Mtrs (10,000 Feet) from the Mean Sea Level (MSL).
The tunnel reduces the road distance by 46 Km between Manali and Leh and the time by about 4 to 5 hours and reduces reduce the road distance by 46 Kms between Manali and Leh and the time by about 4 to 5 hours. Prime Minister will reach Rohtang at 10 am to inaugurate the tunnel named after former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
The decision to construct a strategic tunnel below the Rohtang Pass was taken on June 03, 2000 by Vajpayee and the foundation stone for the Access Road to the South Portal of the tunnel was laid on May 26, 2002. After attending the inauguration function of the Atal Tunnel at South Portal, Manali, Modi shall be participating in public functions at Sissu in Lahaul Spiti and at Solang Valley.
The tunnel has been designed for traffic density of 3000 cars and 1,500 trucks per day and has telecommunication facilities at every 150 Mtrs for emergency communication. Maximum speed allowed is 80km/hour and cameras are installed at every 60 meters.
The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) worked relentlessly to overcome major geological, terrain and weather challenges that included the most difficult stretch of the 587-metre Seri Nalah Fault Zone. The breakthrough from both ends was achieved on October 15, 2017, said PMO in a statement.