The construction of the Atal Tunnel connecting Manali to Leh, which is the longest road tunnel in the world above 10,000 feet, was completed in a span of 10 years. The single tube double lane horseshoe tunnel has many new features. It is also the first tunnel in the country to have an escape tunnel inside the main tunnel due to the topography. This is also the first tunnel to implement Rowa steering wheel technology, which allows engineers to work on inverted levels.
Here are 10 cool things to know about the Atal Tunnel, the world’s longest road tunnel connecting Manali to Leh
1) The 9 km Atal tunnel is built at an estimated cost of ₹3500 crore.
2) Lahaul Spiti’s Atal Tunnel in Rohtang will shorten the distance between Manali and Leh by 46 kms and the driving time by around seven hours.
3) Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to open the tunnel in late September this year, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur said.
4) Once opened, the tunnel will provide all-weather connectivity to the remote border areas of Himachal Pradesh and Ladakh, which will otherwise remain isolated from the rest of the country for about six months during winters.
5) The Atal tunnel will not only be strategically important, it will also boost tourism in Lahaul-Spiti, creating job opportunities.
6) The tunnel has a telephone every 150 meters, a fire hydrant every 60 meters, an emergency exit every 500 meters, a rotating cavern every 2.2 km, air quality control every kilometer, a radio broadcasting system and automatic incident detection. CCTV cameras every 250 meters.
7) You will also save rupees crore in long-term transportation costs.
8) The tunnel has consumed 14,508 metric tons of steel and 2,37,596 metric tons of cement, and has excavated 14 lakh cubic meters of soil and rocks, using the drill and blast technique for excavation and the Austrian New Tunnel construction method. .
9) The union government in December last year named the strategic tunnel under the Rohtang Pass in Himachal Pradesh in honor of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in a tribute to him on his 95th birthday.
10) The decision to build the strategic tunnel under the Rohtang Pass was made on June 3, 2000, when Vajpayee was the prime minister.
-With contributions from agencies
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