Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the strategically important 9.02-km Atal Tunnel in Himachal Pradesh. It is the world’s longest highway tunnel above 10,000 feet and reduces the distance between Manali and Leh by 46 km, causing the travel time to fall by four to five hours.

Highlights of the tunnel:

The all-weather Atal tunnel in Rohtang connects Manali to Lahaul-Spiti valley throughout the year. The valley was earlier cut off for about six months every year due to heavy snowfall.

The tunnel is built with ultra-modern specifications in the Pir Panjal range of Himalayas at an altitude of 3,000 metres (10,000 feet) from the Mean Sea Level (MSL).

The south portal (SP) of Atal Tunnel is located at a distance of 25 km from Manali at an altitude of 3,060 metres, while the north portal (NP) of the tunnel is located near village Teling, Sissu, in Lahaul Valley at an altitude of 3,071 metres.

It is a horseshoe shaped, single-tube double lane tunnel with a roadway of 8 metres and has an overhead clearance of 5.525 metres. 

The project has been completed at a cost of over Rs 3,200 crore.

It has been designed for traffic density of 3,000 cars and 1,500 trucks per day with a maximum speed of 80 km/hr.

It has state of the art electromechanical systems, including semi transverse ventilation system, SCADA controlled firefighting, illumination and monitoring system.  

Other key features include:

• Tunnel entry barriers at both portals.

• Telephone connections at every 150 metres for emergency communication.

• Fire hydrant mechanisms at every 60 metres.

• Auto incident detection system with CCTV cameras at every 250 metres.

• Air quality monitoring at every 1 km.

• Evacuation lighting/exit signs at every 25 metres.

• Broadcasting system throughout the tunnel.

• Fire rated dampers at every 50 metres.

• Cameras at every 60 metres.

The Atal Bihari Vajpayee government had taken the decision to construct the strategic tunnel below the Rohtang Pass on June 3, 2000, and the foundation stone for the access road to the south portal of the tunnel was laid on May 26, 2002.

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. 

The Modi government decided to name the Rohtang Tunnel as Atal Tunnel in December 2019 to honour the former prime minister.

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