Hsuehshan Tunnel Opens in TaiwanThe 12.9 km Hsuehshan, or Snow Mountain, tunnel has opened to traffic on 16th June, 2006 in eastern Ilan county, Taiwan. It is the longest road tunnel in Asia and the fourth longest in service in the world. It is also the world's longest twin-tube road tunnel. The 2 x 18 km Zhongnanshan tunnel currently under construction in the Chinese province of Shanxi will surpass the Hsuehshan tunnel as Asia's longest road tunnel when work is completed next year. Premier Su Tseng-chang, accompanied by three former PMs, drove a jeep through the tunnel to officially inaugurate it. A special commemoration service was held to unveil a memorial paying tribute to the 25 workers (13 Taiwanese and 12 Thai) who died during its construction. The eastbound tunnel is 12,917 m long while the westbound tunnel is 12,942 m long. The tunnel forms a key section of a new national expressway, the No. 5 freeway, bearing the Chinese name of Chiang Wei-shui freeway. The 54.3 km Peiyi freeway, as it is also known, links Nankang district in Taipei and Pinglin town in northern Taipei county to Toucheng and Suao in the northeastern county of Ilan and cuts journey times from more than two hours to just 30 minutes. The tunnel is only open to light vehicles. Toll payments will start only in September. All vehicles bigger than 3.5 tonnes are banned from entering the tunnel.Building the system - which includes two separate two-lane tunnels and a network of interconnecting pedestrian and vehicular tubes - was a painstaking task. It was one of the most difficult construction projects in the world owing to the fragile geological conditions and massive groundwater deposits. The tunnel cuts through Taiwan's central mountain range and was plagued by problems. Taiwan's Premier Su Tseng-chang (driving) and three former PMs give thumbs up after driving through the Hsuehshan tunnel An electronic billboard at the entrance of the Hsuehshan tunnel warns motorists to keep a distance of 50 metres from the car in front while driving through the 12.9 km long tunnel During the excavation, 48 geological accidents (floods and collapses) occurred in the main tunnel while the pilot tunnels saw 42 accidents. Some experts even doubted it would ever be finished. Click here, here, here and here.It took close to TWD100 billion (USD3.1 billion) and 15 years of arduous work to complete the freeway. The tunnel is Taiwan's most costly tunnel to date at over TWD23 billion (USD705 million). Two Taiwanese presidents and eight prime ministers have witnessed the tunnelling project since it started on 15th July, 1991.A key aim of the tunnel is to tackle unbalanced development. 95% of Taiwan's population lives on the west coast, leaving people on the mountainous east coast complaining they were being overlooked. Now it is completed, officials in Ilan county are anticipating a tourism boom. More than 30,000 cars a day are expected to use the tunnel. Click tw/14. Read E-News Weekly 12/2002. 26/06.