A World Record: “Atal Tunnel” adjudged as longest above 10,000-feet
A World Record: “Atal Tunnel” adjudged as longest above 10,000-feet
New Delhi, Feb. 9 (Delhi Crown): The Atal Tunnel has been officially certified by the World Book of Records as the world’s longest highway tunnel above 10,000 Feet.
Director General of Border Roads Organisation (DGBR) Lt. Gen. Rajeev Chaudhry received the award for the stupendous achievement of the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) in constructing this engineering marvel connecting Manali to the Lahaul – Spiti Valley.
World Book of Records, U.K, is an organisation that catalogues and verifies extraordinary records across the world with authentic certification.
The Atal Tunnel was dedicated to the nation by the Prime Minister on Oct. 3, 2020.
The 9.02 km long, strategically significant tunnel, runs under the ‘Rohtang Pass’. It was constructed on the Manali – Leh Highway under the challenging conditions of freezing temperatures in extremely difficult terrain.
Prior to the construction of the tunnel, the highway remained closed during winter season for six months, isolating Lahaul & Spiti from the mainland. Construction of this tunnel has reduced the distance on Manali – Sarchu road by 46 km and travel time by four to five hours, providing all-weather connectivity on the Manali – Leh axis. The construction of this tunnel has been as much a test of technical & engineering skills, as of human endurance and machine efficacy.
It has been constructed in extremely harsh and challenging terrain, wherein the temperatures in winters dipped to bone-chilling -25 degrees and often temperature inside the tunnel soared to nearly 45 degrees.
