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World’s Highest Tunnel to Underwater Road-Rail Tunnel, BRO Building a ‘New India’

Running almost parallel to the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the 255-km long Darbuk-Shyokh-Daulat Beg Oldie (DSDBO) road, which meanders through elevations ranging between 13,000 ft and 16,000 ft, took India’s road construction executive force ‘Border Roads Organisation’ (BRO) almost two decades to construct.

The all-weather strategic road which connects Leh to Daulat Beg Oldie (DBO), which is the northernmost tip of Indian territory in Ladakh, was in the central stage when Defence Minister Rajnath Singh dedicated 75 infrastructure projects built by BRO at a function organised at DSDBO road in Ladakh on October 28, 2022.

These 75 projects (45 bridges, 27 roads, two Helipads & one Carbon Neutral Habitat) – sits in the six border states & two Union Territories (UTs). One of the main highlights of the event was the onsite inauguration of 120-metre long Class 70 ‘Shyok Setu Bridge’ on DSDBO Road at an altitude of 14,000 feet, which will facilitate logistics movement of the Armed Forces. Notably in 2021, a total of 100 bridges, roads, tunnels constructed by BRO were inaugurated to bolster the border infrastructure and connectivity.

The World of Many Firsts

BRO has been reaffirming India’s commitment to ensure the progress of far-flung areas to fulfill the security needs of the country. Upcoming Strategic projects by BRO is the testimony of the same, which includes country’s first-ever underwater ‘Road-cum-Rail’ tunnels in Assam, World’s Highest tunnel at Shinku La Pass to connect Himachal to Ladakh, among others.

With an estimated cost of Rs 7,000 crore, BRO is in progress to build the first-ever underwater road-cum-rail tunnels across the Brahmaputra river in the eastern state of Assam. The strategic collaboration between Indian Railways and Road Transport Ministry along with BRO will lay the foundation of three parallel tunnels — two for the road, and one for the rail.

“The three tube tunnel under Brahmaputra river will be a unique tunnel under any river in the world. It will be the longest tunnel under a river which will have rail and road connectivity,” DGBR, Lt Gen Rajeev Chaudhary told PBNS.

The tunnels which will have a length of 9.8 kilometers each, will be the first project where integrated tunnel construction will be undertaken. Further, these tunnels will be inter-connected with cross passage for evacuation in case of any emergency. The strategic multi-modal transportation tunnel underwater system aims to amalgamate the rail and highway network through the Jamurihat-Silghat axis towards North Assam, Tawang and the rest of Arunachal Pradesh, which will be used for both civilian and strategic purposes.

Next in the list is World’s highest tunnel at ‘Umlingla Pass’ at 15,855 feet, which will connect Himachal Pradesh to Ladakh.

 “Today the highest tunnel in the world is in China named ‘Mi La’, which is at 15,585 ft. But Umlingla Pass tunnel will be built at an altitude of 15,855 feet, which will be the world’s highest tunnel when it will be completed,” DGBR Lieutenant General Rajeev Chaudhary further added.

When World Lauding BRO

Coming to the global feats, BRO bagged the Guinness World Record for constructing highest motorable road in the world (19,024 feet) at Umlingla Pass in Ladakh. The 52-kilometre long Chisumle to Demchok tarmac road, passes through the imperative Umlingla Pass and betters the previous record of a road in Bolivia, which connects volcano Uturuncu at 18,953 feet.

BRO’s engineering marvel ‘Atal Tunnel’ was officially certified as the ‘World’s Longest Highway Tunnel’ above 10,000 Feet by World Book of Records in February 2022. Nestled in Pir Panjal Ranges of the Himalayas, the visionary project of ‘Atal Tunnel’ is 9.02 km long & strategically significant. It runs under the ‘Rohtang Pass’(13,500 feet above sea level), which was constructed on the Manali – Leh Highway under the extremely challenging conditions of freezing cold in mountainous difficult terrain.

Further, the International Federation of Consulting Engineers commonly known as ‘FIDIC’ also shortlisted ‘Atal Tunnel’ for its prestigious Project Awards 2022, among the 28 best infrastructure marvels in the world.

On April 28, 2022, Atal Tunnel also received ‘Best Infrastructure Project’ award by the Indian Building Congress (IBC) in New Delhi. More than thirty cutting-edge infrastructures were nominated for the prestigious awards, and the strategic tunnel was named the Best Projects for Excellence in the Built Environment in 2021 by the IBC Jury.

 

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