Atal Tunnel

Atal Tunnel (Hindi: अटल सुरंग) is a 9.02-kilometre-long (5.60 mi) road tunnel connecting Manali and Keylong, thus helping in bypassing the Rohtang Pass, Himachal Pradesh in the eastern Pir Panjal range of the Himalayas. It carries two lanes of National Highway 3 and is the longest highway single-tube tunnel above 10,000 feet (3,048 m) in the world. It is named after the 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. The route, which previously went through Gramphu, was 116 km (72.1 mi) long and took 5 to 6 hours in good conditions. The new route via the tunnel brings down the total distance travelled to 71 km (44.1 mi) which can be covered in about 2 hours, a reduction of around 3 to 4 hours when compared to the earlier route. Moreover, the tunnel bypasses most of the sites that were prone to road blockades, avalanches, and traffic snarls.

The Moravian Mission first talked about the possibility of a tunnel through Rohtang Pass to reach Lahaul in 1860.

The proposal for the construction of a tunnel across Rohtang Pass was first conceived in 1942 by Dr. John Bicknell Auden, Geological Survey of India (GSI) who at that time visited this pass intending to divert the water of Chandra river to Beas.

When Atal Bihari Vajpayee became the Prime Minister, locals suggested his childhood friend Arjun Gopal to visit him and to talk about Rohtang Tunnel. Gopal and two companions, Chhering Dorje and Abhay Chand, moved to Delhi. After a year of discussions, Vajpayee went to Lahaul in June 2000 and declared that the Rohtang Tunnel would be constructed. RITES conducted a feasibility study.

In 2000, the project was estimated to cost ₹500 crore and be completed in seven years. On 26 May 2002, the Border Roads Organisation (BRO), a tri-service organisation of the Defence Ministry specialising in road and bridge construction in difficult terrains, headed by Lt. Gen. Prakash Suri, PVSM, was put in charge of construction. The approach road to the tunnel entrance was inaugurated by Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

However the project did not move beyond the tree-felling stage by May 2003. By December 2004, the cost estimate had grown to ₹900 crore. In May 2007, the government of Manmohan Singh awarded the contract to SMEC and the completion date was revised to 2014. However, there was no progress for the next three years, until May 2010.

Finally, the Cabinet Committee on Security in UPA government cleared the Rohtang Tunnel Project. The work was awarded to a joint venture of Afcons Infrastructure, an Indian construction company of Shapoorji Pallonji Group, and Strabag, Austria, in September 2009. The drilling of the Rohtang Tunnel through the Himalayan ranges began on 28 June 2010 at the South Portal, 25 km (16 mi) north of Manali. Some of the anchoring and slope stabilisation work was subcontracted to Spar Geo Infra Pvt Ltd. Permanent maintenance free earthing system design, supply and installation was sub-contracted to Manav Energy Pvt. Ltd.