Atal Tunnel in Himachal - Longest Highway Tunnel In The World

Atal Tunnel

Atal Tunnel is also referred to as the Rohtang Tunnel, It is a horseshoe-shaped highway tunnel that connects Manali and the Lahaul-Spiti valley. Atal Tunnel reducing the travel time taken by around 4-5 hours. This longest tunnel in the world is named after the former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the tunnel is the world’s longest one above 10,000 feet and is constructed in the Pir Panjal ranges, under the Rohtang Pass.

Atal Tunnel is an all-weather tunnel that has made possible the entry into the valley, which is usually landlocked during the winter months. The tunnel is a horseshoe-shaped, single tube double lane tunnel with a roadway of 8 meters, has an overhead clearance of 5.525 meters. It is 10.5-meter wide and has a 3.6 x 2.25 meters fireproof emergency egress tunnel built into the main tunnel itself. The distance between Manali and Leh will be reduced by 46 kilometers. The journey from Manali Valley to Lahaul and Spiti Valley will also become easier.

At the beginning of construction of this tunnel, it was designed as an 8.8 km long tunnel, but when the GPS reading was taken after construction, the tunnel length was 9.2 kmThe tunnel’s North End brings visitors into Sissu in Lahaul Valley at an altitude of 3,071 meters which is surrounded by high peaks. The South Portal (SP) of the Atal Tunnel is located at a distance of 25 km from Manali at an altitude of 3,060 meters.

Atal Rohtang Tunnel passes through Rohtang pass and it is the longest highway tunnel in the World, connecting Manali to Lahaul-Spiti valley throughout the year.

Atal tunnel is built in the Pir Panjal mountain range of the Himalayas. It also has an emergency route that has been built under the main tunnel. This will provide an emergency exit in case of any untoward incident. Telephone facility available at every 150 meters in the tunnel, emergency exit every 500 meters, fire hydrant every 60 meters, cave in every 2.2 km. Air quality monitoring systems i.e. air quality sensors are installed at each kilometer.

Advantages of Atal Tunnel at Rohtang

The Rohtang Pass receives heavy snowfall and blizzards during winter months and is open for road traffic for only four to Six months in a year. The tunnel will keep the highway open during the winters as well.
The 117 km distance from Manali to Keylong 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. Keylong would be just 40 km from North Portal and 49 km from the South Portal of the tunnel.
This route will be vital to feed military supplies into military sub-sector in the west facing Aksai Chin and the Siachen Glacier.