Rohtang Tunnel

'''Rohtang Tunnel''' is a tunnel proposed to be built under the [[Rohtang Pass]] in the [[Leh-Manali Highway]]. The {{convert|8.8|km|mi|adj=mid|-long|1}} tunnel will be the longest road tunnel in India and is expected to reduce the distance between [[Manali, Himachal Pradesh|Manali]] and [[Keylong]] by over {{convert|60|km|mi|1}} Lying on the Manali-Leh axis, this is the only route to Ladakh, as the other route through the Zoji La pass on the Srinagar-Drass-Kargil-Leh highway also gets blocked by snow for nearly four months in an year. These two routes are vital to feed military supplies into the sub-sector west (facing Aksai Chin) and the Siachen Glacier. ==History== Rohtang tunnel was planned laying out of an alternative all-weather road route to strategically important areas of Ladakh and providing round-the-year connectivity to the remote ''Lahaul-Spiti valley''. The construction of the tunnel at the moment provides all-weather connectivity only to the Lhaoul Valley of Himachal. The all-weather road to Ladakh will require more tunnels: either at Shikunla, or at the passes located on the present Leh-Manali road. Even then, a year-round road connectivity to Ladakh is doubtful. The project was conceived in 1983{{Citation needed|date=July 2010}} and announced by [[Atal Bihari Vajpayee]] on 3 June 2000. The project was estimated to cost [[Indian rupee|INR]] 500 crores and to be completed in seven years. On 6 May 2002, the [[Border Roads Organization]] was entrusted with the construction of the tunnel, and on 23 May 2002, the work was inaugurated by Mr. Vajpayee.. The cost of the project was revised to INR 1335 crore, with an expected completion by 2010. However work did not progress much, with the project not moving beyond the tree-felling stage by May 2003. By December 2004, the project cost estimate had escalated to INR 1700 crores In May 2007, the contract was awarded to SMEC (Snowy Mountains Engineering Corporation) International Private Limited, an Australian company, and the completion date was revised to 2014.. STRABAG-AFCONS, a joint venture of India's Afcons Infrastructure Limited and Strabag SE of Austria, had undertaken the tender when the Cabinet Committee on Security cleared the Rohtang Tunnel Project in September 2009. Despite multiple announcements that the work on the tunnel would begin in 2008, no progress had been made by November 2009. The drilling of the Rohtang Tunnel through the Himalayan ranges began in Manali on 28 June 2010. UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, in her capacity as the National Advisory Council chief, declared open the tunnel drilling at South Portal, {{convert|30|km|mi|0|abbr=on}} north of Manali, in the presence of Defence Minister A K Antony, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister P K Dhumal and Union Steel Minister Virbhadhar it will also be completed by 2015. ==Challenges== Major challenges to the progress of the tunnel included difficulties in disposing the excavated soil and a flash flood on 8 August 2003, which killed 42 labourers. Questions were also raised on the impact of cutting down more than 700 trees on the ecology. There are more than 46 avalanche sites in the tunnel rohtang tunnel under construction ==Specification== The tunnel was intended to create an all-weather route to Leh, Lahaul and Spiti valleys in Himachal Pradesh. Rohtang pass, located {{convert|51|km|mi|abbr=on|1}} away from Manali, is at an altitude of {{convert|3978|m|ft|0}}. It receives heavy snowfall and blizzards during winter months for about four months. A feasibility study for the construction of a tunnel across Rohtang Pass was conducted by M/S RITES. Salient features of the proposed Rohtang Tunnel are as follows: * Length of Tunnel: {{convert|8.8|km|mi|1}} * Shape of Tunnel: horseshoe * Finished width: {{convert|10.00|m|ft|1}} at road level. (8.00 m pavement and 1.00 m footpath on both sides) * General altitude of the tunnel: {{convert|3000|-|3100|m|ft|-1|disp=or|abbr=on}} * Designated vehicular speed: {{convert|80|km/h|mph|0|abbr=on}} * Geology of tunneling media: uniformly dipping alternate sequence of quartzites, quartzitic schists, quartz-diolite-schist with thin bands. *[[Tunnel boring machine|Tunnel boring machines]] will not be used because of the inability to see inside the mountain, instead blasting and digging will be used to build the tunnel. * Temperature variation in the area: {{convert|25|-|30|C|F}} during May-June, {{convert|-30|to|-20|C|F}} during Dec-Jan. * Overburden: maximum {{convert|1900|m|ft|-1}}, average more than {{convert|600|m|ft|-1|abbr=on}} * Construction technique proposed: Drill & Blast with NATM * Support System proposed: fibre-reinforced concrete ({{convert|100|-|300|mm|in|-1|disp=or|abbr=on}} thick) combined with rock bolt (26.50 mm dia, {{convert|5000|-|9000|mm|in|-1|disp=or|abbr=on}} long) has been proposed as the principal support system. In areas of poor rock condition, yieldable steel ribs (ISMB 150/ISMB 300) have been proposed in addition. * Tunnel ventilation: semi-transverse system of ventilation has been proposed. The following parameters have been set in design: * (a) Upper tolerance limit for concentration - 150ppm * (b) Visibility factor - 0.009/m * (c) Vehicles ::* (i) Cars - 3000 Nos ::* (ii Trucks - 1500 Nos * (d) Peak hour traffic - 337.50 PCUs * (e) Design vehicular speed in Tunnel ::* (i) Maximum Speed - {{convert|80|km/h|mph|0|abbr=on}} ::* (ii) Minimum Speed - {{convert|30|km/h|mph|0|abbr=on}} Project Cost : approximate cost Rs. 1700 Crore ==Safety Measures== The latest Austrian tunneling method and ventilation system— semi transverse type considered as safest—will be adopted for this project. Heavy snowfall in the Rohtang Pass area is a major concern, especially on the approach roads to the main tunnel. To prevent any damage to the roads and to ensure the safety of the roads and tunnel users alike, avalanche control structures are being constructed. The design for these structures is being provided by the [[Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment|''Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment of DRDO'']]. As the Rohtang tunnel will witness heavy traffic, vehicular management and checking pollution is a priority. For this, CCTV cameras would be placed at a regular distance and will be further connected to two monitoring rooms on both ends of the tunnel. Sensors to check the pollution level will keep on updating the data and if the record is above the desired level, then quantity of fresh air injected inside the tunnel would be increased. Pollution level will be controlled within 90 seconds adding that two heavy duty fans each on both openings of the tunnel will be installed to inject fresh air inside. The tunnel will have semi-transverse ventilation system, where large fans would separately circulate air throughout the tunnel length. Another safety feature being added is that fire inside the tunnel will be controlled within an area of 200 meters and fire hydrants will be provided on specific locations. The horse shoe-shaped tunnel will also have public announcement system inside to make important announcement in emergency situations for which loudspeakers will be installed at regular distance ==Expected Completion of the Project== The Border Roads Organisation (BRO), a tri-service Defence Ministry agency specialising in road and bridge construction in difficult terrains, has estimated to complete the tunneling work and get it ready for vehicle flow before 2015. ==Trivia== * When completed in 2015, the 8.8-kilometre-long (5.5 mi) tunnel is also set to become the ''world longest tunnel at an altitude'' between {{convert|3053|-|3080|m|ft|-1|disp=or|abbr=on}}. The nearest in comparison to the Rohtang Tunnel (8.8 km, at an altitude of 3,080 m) would be the [[Anzob Tunnel]] in [[Tajikistan]] ({{convert|5|km|mi|1|disp=x|/}}, altitude {{convert|3,372|m|ft|0|disp=x|/}}), Khojak Rail tunnel near Quetta in [[Pakistan]] (3.9 km, altitude 3,912m) and the [[Eisenhower Tunnel|Eisenhower–Johnson Memorial Tunnel]] in the [[United States]] ({{convert|2.73|km|mi|1|disp=x|/}}, altitude {{convert|3,401|m|ft|0|disp=x|/}}). * There were proposals of installing a [[Neutrino detector]] in the tunnel by [[Panjab University, Chandigarh|Punjab University]] and [[Tata Institute of Fundamental Research]] * The 85-km distance from Manali to Kelong on the other side of Rohtang Pass is usually covered by vehicles in about five to six hours, without counting the long hours of traffic jams on the hilly route. The same distance would now be covered in less than half-an-hour through the tunnel and without traffic snarls.The North Portal of the tunnel will be about 25 km ahead of Kelong, thereby entirely avoiding Rohtang Pass. ==External links== * [http://www.bro.nic.in/indexmain.asp?projectid=29&lang=1 Rohtang Tunnel] {{coord missing|Himachal Pradesh}}