India's longest tunnel work on the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway is going to be completed. The longest tunnel being prepared on the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, which will pass through the Mukundara Hills Tiger Reserve (MHTR) in Rajasthan, is almost going to be completed. Officials have targeted to complete the construction of the tunnel by December 2025.
It is an 8 -lane tunnel, the first tunnel in the country with two parallel tubes, each of which has four lanes. However, in future the tunnel has been targeted to prepare 8 to 12 lanes. This tunnel extends up to 4.9 km. This tunnel has a 3.3 km underground section. While the remaining 1.6 km is being constructed using cut-end-conversion. On Friday, the engineers celebrated the completion of the construction of Tube 1. The tube 1 will connect the quota with a chest.
Tube-1 excavated
A senior official of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), a senior official of India confirmed that the tube-1 has been completely excavated, but the excavation of only 60 meters is still left in Tube-2 (Chechat to Kota). He further said, this work is expected to be completed within a month. After digging, more modifications will be made to increase the width and height of the tunnel in some sections.
What will be the security arrangements
Many arrangements have also been made for security in the tunnel. Which include:
-AI-based monitoring
- Lighting and sensor
- Pollution Control System
- Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (Skada)
Officials have targeted to complete the construction of the tunnel by December 2025.
The Delhi-Mumbai Expressway is a 1,350 km access-controlled expressway, designed as an 8-lane expressway. However, it is expected to increase it to 12 lanes in future. In Rajasthan, 327 km is already operational out of the length of 373 km under construction.
According to an NHAI official, “The construction of the transport corridor has been completed on most parts. However, until the interchange is constructed, these sections cannot be opened for traffic. ”
