India: How to make avalanche-prone mountains over Rohtang tunnel safe for motorists
Manali — The construction of one of the world's most challenging motorways - the Rohtang Pass highway tunnel - in the Himalayas of Himachal Pradesh is likely to be completed by 2020, according to the project engineers.
However, a daunting task ahead is to make the snow avalanche-prone roads, located at altitudes ranging above 3,000 metres and leading to the tunnel, safe for the motorists as well as accessible round the year.
For this, Chandigarh-based Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment (SASE) has designed mechanical structures to ensure the safety of motorists by countering avalanches on both ends of the tunnel that remain under snow even during peak summer.
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Engineers of SASE, a Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) laboratory, said that self-escape snow galleries have been designed for the safety of motorists after studying the local dynamics of avalanches like force and velocity.
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Likewise, a 250-m long catch dam is under construction towards tunnel's north portal to check erosion of falling debris along the road.
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