PM to inaugurate India’s longest tunnel on April 2

JAMMU, March 27,2017: Chenani-Nashri tunnel, India’s longest highway tunnel, on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway, will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 2. Here are 10 facts about the project: 1. The length of the tunnel is 9.28 km. The world’s longest highway tunnel is 24.51 km and is in Norway. 2. It will reduce the travel distance between Jammu and Srinagar by 30.11 km, which will help save fuel worth Rs 27 lakh daily. 3. Built on the lower Himalayan range at a height of 1,200 metres, it will cut travel time between the two cities by at least two hours. 4. The project cost is Rs 3,720 crore, Rs 1,200 crore more than the initial estimated cost. 5. Work on the tunnel system started on May 23, 2011. 6. The main tunnel is 13 metre in diametre, the parallel escape tunnel is 6 metre diametre and are connected by 29 cross passages at 300-metre gap. 7. The tunnel boasts of an integrated system that will control communication, ventilation, video surveillance, power supply, SOS call box, fire fighting and incident detection and an FM signal repeater. 8. It is part of a 286-km-long four-lane project on the Jammu-Srinagar highway. 9. It is meant to avoid stretches of National Highway 44 prone to avalanches and landslides. Patnitop, Kud, and Batote will be bypassed now. 10. The speed limit in the tunnel will be 50km/hour and headlights will have to be low beam