The tunnel will cut down the time taken to cross the Zojila pass from the present 3.5 hours to just 15 minutes, besides making the drive much safer and convenient
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be laying the foundation stone to mark the commencement of the work on India's longest road tunnel and Asia's longest bidirectional tunnel on Saturday.
The 14-km-long tunnel is being drilled through Zojila pass that will connect Sonmarg in central Kashmir with Kargil in Ladakh and will also make the strategic 434-km Srinagar-Leh highway motorable throughout the year.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by PM Modi, had approved the construction, operation and maintenance of this two lane bi-directional tunnel with Parallel Escape (Egress) tunnel between Baltal and Minamarg on the Srinagar-Leh section of NH-1A at a total cost of Rs 6,800 crore earlier this year.
"The construction of this tunnel will provide all weather connectivity between Srinagar, Kargil and Leh. This route remains snow-bound for a large part of the year, and is ravaged by frequent avalanches. As a result, road connection to places in the Ladakh region stands disrupted for long periods, preventing even essential supplies from reaching people, shutting down businesses, affecting healthcare and education," an official spokesman said.
The tunnel will cut down the time taken to cross the Zojila pass from the present 3.5 hours to just 15 minutes, besides making the drive much safer and convenient.
The Zojila tunnel has been planned as a smart tunnel. It will have latest safety features like fully transverse ventilation system, Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS), Tunnel Emergency Lighting, CCTV Monitoring, Variable Message Signs (VMS), Traffic Logging Equipment, Over Height Vehicle Detection, Tunnel Radio System, etc.
"It will have pedestrian cross passages at every 250 meter and motorable cross passages and lay-bys at every 750 meter. It will have emergency telephones and fire-fighting cabinets at every 125 meter", said the spokesman.
Zojila is the second tunnel on Srinagar-Kargil stretch to be built on the national highway to ensure round the year connectivity between the valley and the cold desert of Ladakh.
The 434 km long Srinagar-Leh highway passes through the most unstable and avalanche prone areas. From kilometer 80 (near Sonamarg) to kilometer 114 (Minimarg), there are 109 avalanche prone spots. Particularly the area ahead of Gagangir in Sonamarg to Minimarg ahead of Zojila remains snowbound during winters. The tunnels are being considered a safe bet which will provide all weather road connectivity to Ladakh.
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