Hyderabad-based Megha Engineering and Infrastructures Limited (MEIL) completed the excavation of the second tube of Tunnel-1 on Monday, bringing the strategic Zoji La tunnel one step closer to providing all-weather road connectivity between Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

T-1 has two tubes, each with a length of 448 m and 472 m, according to officials. On November 4, the first tube was day-lighted, and the second tube was day-lighted today. Officials claim that the difficult task was completed ahead of schedule. Tunnelling this stretch was difficult because water kept seeping in.

The Zoji La project is 32 km long and is divided into two sections. Two twin-tube tunnels, five bridges, and two snow galleries will be part of the highway. Part 1 of the project, which spans 18 km and includes major bridges and twin tunnels, connects Sonamarg and Taltal. Officials have stated that the next twin tubes, each measuring two km in length, will achieve day-lighting in April 2022. The Zoji La project was awarded to MEIL, a leading infrastructure company, in 2020.

The Zoji La Tunnel is a 14.2 km long road tunnel under the Zoji La pass in the Himalayas that connects Sonmarg and Drass town in the Kargil district of the Indian Union Territory of Ladakh. It is currently under construction and is expected to be completed in about five to seven years after construction began in 2018. The tunnel, along with the 6.5 km long Z-Morh Tunnel, will ensure year-round road connectivity between Srinagar and Kargil, which has been closed for about seven months due to heavy snowfall on the Zoji La pass on the Srinagar-Kargil-Leh highway. Zoji La is 15 km from Sonamarg and serves as a vital link between Ladakh's Drass and Kargil. Due to heavy snowfall and snow avalanches, it is closed for six to seven months during the winter.

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