The Tianshan Shengli tunnel, the world’s longest high-speed tunnel, was completed on the morning of December 30, paving the way for a new shortcut connecting the northern and southern regions of Xinjiang autonomous region.
The 22.13km Tianshan Shengli tunnel will reduce driving time through the middle of the Tianshan range from several hours to 20 minutes once it opens. The tunnel design includes 4 lanes, 2 directions with a speed of 100 km/h. The tunnel is located in a remote area of the Tianshan range, at an average altitude of more than 3,000 m.
Over the past 4 years, more than 3,000 workers have worked continuously in low oxygen environments at high altitudes, dealing with many geological challenges and risks such as rock bursts, large deformations in soft rocks and collapses. . The project faces harsh environmental conditions and extremely complex geology. Normally, it takes about 72 months to complete the tunnel using traditional methods. However, the construction team successfully completed the project in just 52 months.
This is a key project of the Urumqi – Yuli highway running from the capital Urumqi in the north to Uyli county in southern Xinjiang. This highway is expected to be completed and open to traffic in 2025. Driving time between the two locations will be reduced from about 7 hours to more than 3 hours.