Nechiphu Tunnel, built in a strategically crucial location in West Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh, is ready for inauguration.
The Tunnel is a unique 500 meter long at an altitude of 5,700 feet, ‘D-shaped, Single Tube Double Lane Tunnel’ on the Balipara-Charduar-Tawang (BCT) Road in West Kameng of Arunachal Pradesh.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had laid the foundation stone of the Tunnel on October 12, 2020.
According to an official statement by Border Road Organisation (BRO) earlier, the Tunnel is equipped with modern lighting and safety facilities and is also expected to have two-way traffic.
The Tunnel wil have state-of-the-art electro-mechanical systems besides fire fighting devices.
"It will also accommodate raised footpaths on both sides for safer pedestrian movement which will have ducts for Power cables, optical fibre cables and utility lines to strengthen the civic amenities infrastructure," an official statement said.
The Tunnel was planned to overcome the extreme foggy conditions in the Nechiphu Pass. The military convoys faced difficulties in their movement due to the foggy conditions.
“This is one of the many tunnels conceived by BRO along border areas to improve existing road geometrics, avoid foggy areas, circumvent slide prone areas and reduce black spots on the roads to offer greater safety and all weather connectivity to the military and civil traffic movement,” Tezpur-based Defence spokesman Lt Col A S Walia said.
“Once in service, Nechiphu tunnel will not only provide safe all weather passage but will also cut short the travel time by 30 min and reduce the road distance by 7 km of the heavily foggy stretch. This environment friendly construction and reduction in distance will also help reduce the carbon foot print of the roads in the area,” he added.
The tunnel has been constructed by cutting through fragile Himalayan mountains with highly fractured rock under low overburden through strict 3D monitoring and through proactive application of desired tunnel support system.
BRO personnel created a record on the tunnel by excavating 100 m in just 40 days, defence spokesman said.
The Nechiphu Tunnelis built by cutting through highly fractured and fragile rock strata.
"The BRO has been consistently achieving success in execution of infrastructural marvels in the most challenging areas of the nation over the last two years. It has taken up tunnelling in a big way with successful completion of High Altitude and Mountainous tunnels, in addition to the Atal Tunnel, Rohtang in Himachal Pradesh the Chamba Tunnel in Uttarakhand, has also been dedicated to the Nation, in the recent past. The organisation has also embarked on construction of a series of small tunnels, which it will construct with manpower resources integral to the organisation," the official statement said.
(With PTI inputs)
