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ROAD CONSTRUCTION PROJECT IN THE HIMALAYAS
India’s most ambitious tunnel construction project is currently in progress in the heart of an inaccessible mountain range – with a length of approximately 13km, the Zoji-La Tunnel will provide a weather-independent connection between the Ladakh and Kashmir regions.
Two Universal Class pavers from Vögele have taken on the paving work inside and outside the tunnel under difficult topographic conditions and without disrupting traffic flow.
One of India’s biggest infrastructure construction contractors is constructing Asia’s longest road tunnel at an altitude of close to 3,500m in the Himalayas.
Up until now, it usually took vehicles more than three hours to cross the Zoji-La Pass. Between November and May, heavy snowfall, avalanches and landslides make it impossible to cross the pass, meaning that the border region of Ladakh depends on airfreight for approximately six months of the year.
The new tunnel, with a length of around 13km, will shorten the travel time between Srinagar (Kashmir) and Leh (Ladakh) to 15 minutes and establish a safe, all-year-round connection between the two cities.
Lead contractor Megha Engineering and Infrastructures Ltd. relied on two road pavers from Vögele to assure high quality and efficient realisation of the asphalt paving work in the challenging location.
The contractor used a Super 1400i for the paving work inside the tunnel: the paving team laid down a 6m wide layer of dry lean concrete with a thickness of 18m.
For the paving of the 16.4km long and 10.5m wide section outside the tunnel, including access roads and bridges, the contractor deployed a second Universal Class paver, a Super 1800-3i.
The team laid down a total of three layers with the Super 1800-3i: the 10cm cementtreated sub-base layer was followed by an 11cm binder course with a mix formulated especially for the terrain.
Finally, a 6cm surface course of bituminous concrete was paved on top. The mix used for paving consisted partly of material removed during the construction of the tunnel – this was said to increase the cost-efficiency and sustainability of the project. iC