Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday inaugurated the –1-- at Rohtang at an altitude of above 3,000 metres in Himachal Pradesh. After the inauguration, he said the tunnel would provide new strength to the country’s border infrastructure. 

The –1--tunnel, built by the ---2--- is the world’s longest highway tunnel and connects Manali to Lahaul-Spiti valley. It provides all-weather connectivity to the landlocked valley of Lahaul-Spiti, which remains cut-off for nearly six months in a year as the Rohtang Pass is uually snow-bound between November and April.

Before the tunnel construction, the Lahaul Valley used to remain closed for vehicular movement due to bad weather conditions. But 

Thanks to the tunnel, the people of the Valley will have round-the-year road connectivity. The tunnel reduces the distance by 46 km between Manali and Leh and the travel time by about 4 to 5 hours. It is expected to boost tourism and winter sports in the region. The tunnel, also significant from the military logistics viewpoint, will provide better connectivity to the armed forces in reaching Ladakh.

With the maximum speed limit of 80 km per hour, the tunnel is expected to see traffic of 3,000 cars and 1,500 trucks a day.

The tunnel has consumed 12,252 metric tonne steel, 1, 69,426 metric tonne cement and 1, 01,336 metric tonnes of concrete, and excavated out 5, 05,264 metric tonnes of soil and rocks by adopting the latest Austrian tunnelling method for construction.