(Revisit the sky to see the changes) The construction of the Xia Gongla Mountain Tunnel Project in Tibet with an altitude of more than 4750 meters is steadily progress

　　China News Service, Tibet, Bianba, July 25th (Reporter Liu Zhongjun) The reporter learned from the National Highway 349 Bianba to Jiali section of the highway reconstruction project headquarters on the 25th that it passed through Luolong, Bianba County and Nagqu in Changdu, Tibet. The construction of the Xia Gongla Mountain Tunnel Project with an altitude of 4750 meters in Jiali County of the city is progressing steadily.

　　Xia Gongla Mountain, also known as Danda Mountain, means "East Snow Mountain" in Tibetan. It is more than 5,900 meters above sea level. The place where merchants, Kham-Tibetan pilgrimage monks and laymen must pass through in Tibetan areas.

In 1951, the advance troops of the Eighteenth Army entered Tibet and crossed the Xia Gongla Mountain, known as the "first danger in Tibet".

　　It is understood that the Xia Gongla Mountain was too steep, and it was not until October 2000 that the simple road from Bianba County to Jinling Township was opened, which was the first time a car passed by in history.

Although the road is open, there is a heavy snow-covered mountain season for more than June every year, which brings great inconvenience to local people's travel, production and life.

Huang Delin, the commander of the highway reconstruction project from Bianba to Jiali section of National Highway 349, said that in order to solve the above problems, with the joint efforts of all departments, the reconstruction project of Bianba to Jiali section of National Highway 349 (including Xia Gongla Mountain) Tunnel) was approved in 2018, and construction started in October of the same year.

　　The Xia Gongla Mountain Tunnel is an important part of National Highway 349, a controlling project, and one of the extra-long tunnels with the highest altitude in Tibet.

The National Highway 349 Bianba to Jiali section road reconstruction project and the Xia Gongla Mountain Tunnel are under construction.

Photo by Liu Zhongjun

　　The highway reconstruction project from Bianba to Jiali section of National Highway 349 (Bianba to Niwu Township, Jiali County) adopts the third-class road standard, and the design speed is 30 km/h.

Among them, the main tunnel of the Xia Gongla Mountain Tunnel is 4392 meters long. It adopts a single tunnel and two directions, with a limit of 9 meters in width and 5 meters in height. The seismic fortification intensity of the tunnel structure is Ⅶ.

“Raw materials for tunnel construction need to be transported to the construction site from places such as Golmud, Qinghai, Qamdo, Tibet, etc., which takes a long time.” Huang Delin said that the Xia Gongla Mountain Tunnel has crossed two large faults, the tunnel rock mass is poor, and there is a potential collapse. , Water and mud and other risks, construction organization is more difficult.

　　The construction and construction party stated that in the face of difficulties, the unit and the workers inherited and carried forward the "two-way spirit" and the "old Tibetan spirit", and overcome the difficulties of high cold and lack of oxygen, heavy snow sealing mountains, avalanches and extreme weather, landslides, water and mud. Continuously improve the construction plan, optimize the construction technology, adjust the construction measures in combination with the actual situation, and seize the construction period to ensure the steady progress of the construction of the Xia Gongla Mountain Tunnel.

　　The reporter saw at the entrance of the Xia Gongla Mountain Tunnel (Part I) that the main tunnel of this section of the tunnel has been excavated 1,455 meters. It is expected that the excavation construction will be completed in December 2021, and the conditions for completion will be available in October 2022.

　　It is reported that the completion of the Xia Gongla Mountain Tunnel will end the history of passing vehicles over the sea level pass, completely solve the current situation of the Qamdo to Lhasa bypass national highway 317 during the heavy snow closure, shortening the mileage by nearly 300 kilometers.

After the renovation project is completed and opened to traffic, Changdu and Nagqu area will be more convenient to reach Lhasa, Nyingchi and other places, which will play a very important role in promoting the rapid economic development of Changdu and Nagqu area and the development of tourism in eastern Tibet.

(Finish)