Timeline of Atal Tunnel
Date | Milestone |
---|---|
June 3, 2000 | Project announced by then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee |
May 6, 2002 | BRO was entrusted with the project |
June 28, 2010 | Sonia Gandhi lays foundation stone |
June 2012 | 3.5 km of tunnel digging completed |
October 2013 | 4 km of tunnel dug; portion collapses, halting progress |
September 2014 | 4.4 km of tunnel dug (half of the planned length) |
December 2016 | 7.6 km of tunnel digging completed; Expected completion in 2017 with opening in H2 2019 |
September 3, 2017 | 276 meters of tunnel digging remains; Tunnel to be opened for emergency services by winter |
October 13, 2017 | Both ends of the tunnel meet; Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman visits |
November 22, 2017 | Decision to allow patient transport in emergencies only; Civilians not allowed due to safety concerns |
September 2018 | Tunnel used for evacuation due to bad weather in Lahaul |
January 2019 | 90% of the work completed |
October 2019 | 100 meters of work remaining; Emergency traffic to open by October end |
November 17, 2019 | Bus service trial starts through the tunnel for residents of Lahaul and Spiti valleys |
December 25, 2019 | The official renaming of the tunnel from Rohtang to Atal Tunnel |
September 2020 | The project reaches 100% completion |
October 3, 2020 | Inauguration by Prime Minister Narendra Modi |
Atal Tunnel: Significance, Timeline and Facts
Atal Tunnel is inaugurated in Himachal Pradesh. Atal Tunnel stands as the world’s longest highway tunnel. It presents a significant reduction of 46 kilometers in the distance between Manali and Leh. It is named in honor of the former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
In this article, we will take a look at the overview of Atal Tunnel, a recent record that it created, its history, and much more.