Atal Tunnel is a highway tunnel built under the Rohtang Pass in the eastern Pir Panjal range of the Himalayas. It is the longest tunnel above 10,000 feet in the world and is named after former Prime Minister of India, Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The tunnel reduces the travel time and overall distance between Manali and Keylong on the way to Leh.
About Atal Tunnel in brief
Atal Tunnel is a highway tunnel built under the Rohtang Pass in the eastern Pir Panjal range of the Himalayas on the Leh-Manali Highway in Himachal Pradesh, India. At a length of 9. 02 km, it is the longest tunnel above 10,000 feet in the world and is named after former Prime Minister of India, Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The tunnel reduces the travel time and overall distance between Manali and Keylong on the way to Leh. It was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 3 October 2020. The cost of the entire project is ₹3,200 crore. Prime Minister Nehru discussed a rope way to Rohtangs Pass with local tribes in 1960. In 2000, the project was estimated to cost ⁹500 crore and be completed in seven years.
In May 2007, the government of Dr. Manmohan Singh awarded the contract to SMEC International Private Limited, an Australian company, and the completion date was revised to 2014. However, there was no progress for the next three years, until May 2010. The work was awarded to a joint venture of AFCONS Infrastructure Limited and STRABAG AG, Austria, in September 2009. Only about one-fourth of the tunnel was excavated from the north and three-fourths from the south end. Excavation for tunelling was done from both ends. The most challenging task was to continue the excavation during heavy snowfall in winter.
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This page is based on the article Atal Tunnel published in Wikipedia (as of Dec. 10, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
