$400-million tunnel in Himachal Pradesh will cut four-hour winding trip to 10 minutes

Labourers work inside the newly constructed Atal Tunnel on the Leh-Manali highway in the northern state of Himachal Pradesh, India. The construction of the Atal Tunnel connecting Manali with Leh, which is the world's longest highway tunnel above 10,000 feet, has been completed in a span of 10 years. The horseshoe shaped single-tube, double-lane tunnel has many firsts. It is also the country's first tunnel to have an escape tunnel within the main tunnel because of the topography.

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The 9-km Atal Tunnel is constructed at an estimated cost $400-million. Above, a construction vehicle moves inside the tunnel near Solang.

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Atal Tunnel in Lahaul Spiti's Rohtang will shorten the distance between Manali and Leh by 46 km and drive time by around seven hours. Labourers are working overtime to get the tunnel ready before Prime Minister Narendra Modi is due to open on October 3.

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Vehicles move along a road leading to the newly constructed Atal Tunnel on the Leh-Manali highway in Lahaul Valley in Lahaul and Spiti district in the northern state of Himachal Pradesh. Once thrown open, the tunnel will provide all-weather connectivity to remote border areas of Himachal Pradesh's Lahaul-Spiti and Leh-Ladakh which otherwise remain cut-off from the rest of the country for about six months due to heavy snowfall during winters.

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The tunnel provides telephone facility at every 150 metres, fire hydrant at every 60 metres, emergency exit at every 500 metres, turning cavern at every 2.2 km, air quality monitoring at every 1 km, and broadcasting system and automatic incident detection system with CCTVs at every 250 metres. Above, labourers work inside the Atal Rohtang Tunnel near Solang in Himachal Pradesh state.

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The tunnel has consumed 14,508 metric tonnes of steel and 2,37,596 metric tonnes of cement, and excavated out 14 lakh cubic metres soil and rocks, using the drill and blast technique for excavation and the New Austrian Tunnelling method for construction.

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Workers are seen outside the newly constructed Atal Tunnel on the Leh-Manali highway. The union government in December last year named the strategic tunnel under the Rohtang Pass in Himachal Pradesh after former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in a tribute to him on his 95th birth anniversary.

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A view shows the south portal gate near the newly constructed Atal Tunnel. Engineers are re-testing the automated lighting and ventilation systems, fire hydrants, pumps, phones and various sensors for fitting inside the tunnel before the inauguration.

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Vehicles move along a road leading to the newly constructed Atal Tunnel on the Leh-Manali highway in Lahaul Valley in Lahaul and Spiti district.

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A worker paints the road leading to the newly constructed Atal Tunnel on the Leh-Manali highway.

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