TUNNELLING on the trouble fraught 12.9km Hsuehshan (Snow Mountain) tunnel in Taiwan - also known as the Pinglin tunnel - was finally completed on September 16 after 13 years, several deaths and the loss of a TBM due to horrendous ground conditions. This is the fifth longest highway tunnel in the world and will cut driving time from Taipei to the country's second largest city - Han - from the current two and a half hours to only half an hour. The tunnel is the most crucial and challenging part of the 31 km Taipei-Han Expressway, which starts at Nankang in Taipei City, runs southeast through the Hsuehshan Mountain Range, links Taipei Basin and Lanyang Plain, and ends at Toucheng in Han County. The Hsuehshan Tunnel is composed of two main tunnels westbound and eastbound) and a pilot tunnel. Due to the adverse geological conditions encountered, it took considerable time to complete these three tunnels. Namely, July 1991 to October 2003 for the pilot tunnel, July 1993 to April 2004 for the westbound main tunnel, and July 1993 to September 2004 for the eastbound main tunnel.
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