MINIMARG (Ladakh), Jun 9: Zojila Tunnel saw the light of the day on Tuesday after a breakthrough was achieved through a blast as one of the most ambitious infrastructure projects in the country, the world’s longest single-tube bi-directional bypass at a record height, nears completion.
“Breakthrough in the 2.5 metre distance in the tunnel has been successfully achieved,” officials said.
The breakthrough has brought the decades-old dream of all-weather connectivity between the Kashmir Valley and Ladakh closer to reality.
Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari pressed the remote button, blasting the breakthrough site near the East Portal of the tunnel at Minimarg in Ladakh Union Territory.
Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah were also present.Officials of the National Highways & Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL) said the breakthrough is six months ahead of schedule.
The officials said the tunnel is likely to be thrown open for public in February 2028.
After the breakthrough, the civil works will take another 7-8 months and then the electrical works will begin, they said.
As of now, about 85 per cent of the total work has been completed, Authority Engineer for the project, Yousef Es’haghpour Rahimabadi, told PTI here.
The tunnel — 9.5 metre wide, 7.57 metre high, 13.153 km long — is a horseshoe-shaped single-tube, a two-lane road tunnel built at the height of around 11,578 feet above sea level.
The geostrategically important tunnel on the Srinagar-Leh National Highway will provide year-round, weather-proof connectivity to Ladakh, and reduce the earlier 1-1.5 hours travel time to just a 15-minute drive, officials said.
The tunnel from Baltal in the Ganderbal district of central Kashmir to Minimarg in Drass district of the Union Territory of Ladakh has an 18-km approach road.
Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Limited (MEIL), the agency which is executing the project, used the New Austrian Tunnelling Method (NATM) to pierce through the Himalayas and navigate the fragile geology. The entire project is 31-km-long, including the approach road and bridges, stretching from Sonmarg to Minimarg.
Once operational, the tunnel would enhance both civilian and military mobility across the treacherous Zojila Pass that is usually rendered shut for traffic for three winter months due to heavy snowfall.
