India’s Longest Zojila Road Tunnel Will Provide All-weather Connectivity To Tourist Destinations: Gadkari
Modified On Apr 12, 2023 11:17 AM By Sukrit
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The 14km long tunnel passes below the Zojila pass in the upper Himalayas, connecting the Kashmir valley and Ladakh
With multiple highway projects underway, different parts of Jammu and Kashmir are about to get more accessible for the State’s residents, as well as tourists. Nitin Gadkari, the Union Transport Minister, paid a visit to inspect one of the most ambitious projects in the State, the Zojila tunnel, which will be one of Asia’s longest road tunnels, and certainly the longest tunnel in India, once completed.
Meet Asia's largest tunnel - Zojila Tunnel, an engineering marvel with all-weather connectivity. #ZojilaTunnel #PragatiKaHighway #GatiShakti #BuildingTheNation#AllWeatherRoad pic.twitter.com/MtJJIkranZ
— Nitin Gadkari (@nitin_gadkari) April 10, 2023
Zojila Tunnel: Key Facts
You might remember Zojila from your high school geography textbooks. If not, we’ll refresh your memory. Zojila is a Himalayan mountain pass in the Kargil district which connects the Kashmir valley with Ladakh. A road constructed by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) already exists, but it’s prone to snowing and it can take from three to four hours to cross the mountain pass.
Once the new Zojila tunnel is in operation, it’ll provide all-weather connectivity without interruption from snow or landslides. It’s claimed that it will reduce travel time to around 40 minutes.
The Zojila tunnel is a part of the Srinagar-Leh highway (National Highway 1). The 14km-long tunnel starts with a picturesque access road in the valley that goes across three bridges over the river Sind. The first sections of the tunnel, a short one followed by a 1.9km-long one, give glimpses of the valley in-between. The main, final tunnel is a 13.15km ascent into Ladakh.
Himalayan terrain poses unique challenges to the engineers and workers who have had to brave extremely cold temperatures, landslides and tough terrain to construct the tunnel. As of now, the tunnel is around 28 per cent complete and will be finished in 2026.
Will get advanced features
The Zojila tunnel is being constructed using cutting-edge techniques and is expected to get important safety features. Apart from by-ways, escape routes and adequate lighting, the Zojila tunnel will get ventilation tunnels, CCTV cameras, a smart traffic monitoring system, pedestrian crossings and emergency phones throughout the route.
Once it has been completed (around 2026-end) the Zojila road tunnel will be India’s longest road tunnel, beating the Atal Tunnel (9.02km) and Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee Tunnel (9.03km) by a sizable margin. However, the Yamate Tunnel in Japan is Asia’s longest road tunnel at 18.2km. The Zhongnashan Tunnel in China comes a close second with a length of 18.04km. As for the longest road tunnel in the world, the Laerdal Tunnel in Norway holds the record at 24.51km long.
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The Zojila bridge as well as other projects will be a boon for road travel in the State. However, with treacherous weather conditions and unpredictable terrain, there should be an emphasis on worker training and safety as well as preservation on the fragile Himalayan ecosystem.
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