Defense Ministry says tunnel conceived to bypass extreme fog conditions around Nechifu Pass
Defense Ministry says tunnel conceived to bypass extreme fog conditions around Nechifu Pass
The Border Roads Organization (BRO) on Friday conducted the final “breakthrough blast”, marking the successful completion of the Nechiphu tunnel excavation work in Arunachal Pradesh.
A Defense Ministry statement said BRO Director General Lt Gen Rajeev Choudhary carried out the blast remotely from New Delhi. The foundation stone of the project was laid by Defense Minister Rajnath Singh on October 12, 2020.
The Nechiphu Tunnel, at an altitude of 5,700 feet, is a 500-metre-long “D-shaped, single-tube double lane tunnel” on the Balipara-Charduar-Tawang (BCT) road in West Kameng district and carries two-way traffic. It will be equipped with modern lighting and security features.
“The tunnel has been conceived to circumvent the extreme foggy conditions around the Nechifu Pass, which have been hindering normal traffic and military convoys for several decades,” the statement said. The tunnel will be provided with state-of-the-art electro-mechanical systems, including fire extinguishing equipment, auto illumination system and supervisory control and data acquisition controlled monitoring system.
another tunnel
Along with the Nechifu Tunnel project, BRO’s Vartak project has also completed the excavation work on another strategic tunnel, twin tubes – 1,555 m and 980 m – “Sela Tunnel Project” on the same road on January 22, 2022. ,
The ministry said the latest eruption marks a cumulative excavation of over 4,500 metres, achieved by BRO ‘karmayogis’ in less than two years.
Once in service, the Nechifu Tunnel, along with the Sela Tunnel, will provide secure, all-weather strategic connectivity on BCT Road while reducing the carbon footprint in this eco-sensitive region.
On the construction process, the statement said it was being completed by cutting the fragile and highly fractured rock strata. It added that attendant challenges were being met on a daily basis through strict 3D monitoring and proactive application of desired tunnel support systems in accordance with the New Austrian Tunneling Method (NATM).