New Delhi (NVI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate India’s strategic Atal Tunnel, the highest highway tunnel in the world, at Rohtang on October 3, the PMO said in a statement today.
The PM will inaugurate the 9.02 Km long tunnel which connects Manali to Lahaul-Spiti valley throughout the year, at 10 AM on Saturday. Earlier, the valley was cut off for about 6 months each year owing to heavy snowfall.
The Tunnel is built with ultra-modern specifications in the Pir Panjal range of Himalayas at an altitude of 3000 meters (10,000 Feet) from the Mean Sea Level (MSL).
The tunnel reduces the road distance by 46 Kms between Manali and Leh and the time by about 4 to 5 hours.
The South Portal (SP) of Atal Tunnel is located at a distance of 25 Km from Manali at an altitude of 3060 Mtrs, while the North Portal (NP) of the tunnel is located near village Teling, Sissu, in Lahaul Valley at an altitude of 3071 meters.
It is horse shoe shaped, single tube double lane tunnel with a roadway of 8 meters. It has an overhead clearance of 5.525 meters.
The tunnel is 10.5-metre wide and has a 3.6 x 2.25 meters fire proof emergency egress tunnel built into the main tunnel itself.
Atal Tunnel has been designed for traffic density of 3000 cars per day and 1500 trucks per day with max speed of 80 km/hr.
It has the state-of-the-art electromechanical system including semi transverse ventilation system, SCADA controlled firefighting, illumination and monitoring system.
-ARK
