Salang Tunnel
The Salang Tunnel is a 2.67-kilometre road tunnel at approximately 3,400 metres elevation through the Hindu Kush, linking Kabul to northern Afghanistan. Opened in 1964, it has been the country's most strategically important infrastructure for sixty years — and its most dangerous.[1][2] The tunnel runs beneath the Salang Pass, one of the highest mountain passes in the world, and was the highest road tunnel globally until 1973 when the Eisenhower Tunnel in Colorado surpassed it. The name "Salang" derives from the Salang Valley, a high mountain valley that the tunnel traverses.[1]
Construction
In 1955, Afghanistan and the Soviet Union signed an agreement to jointly develop the Salang road. Construction ran from 1958 to 1964 under Soviet Premier Khrushchev as an aid project to win Afghan support. The tunnel provided a year-round all-weather connection from northern Afghanistan to Kabul — the only such north-south pass through the Hindu Kush.[1][2]
Before the tunnel, the journey from Kabul to northern Afghanistan took up to 72 hours. The tunnel cut travel time to ten hours and saved roughly 300 kilometres. It was the highest road tunnel in the world until 1973, when the Eisenhower Tunnel in Colorado surpassed it.[1][3]
The tunnel tube is seven metres wide, and the approaches include approximately sixteen concrete snow galleries for avalanche protection. A ventilation system was added in 1976.[1] The tunnel's construction required the drilling of three parallel tunnels: the main traffic tunnel, an auxiliary service tunnel, and a ventilation shaft. Soviet engineers faced extreme challenges including permafrost, rock bursts, and high geothermal temperatures at depth. The project employed approximately forty thousand workers at its peak, including Soviet specialists and Afghan labourers.[1][3]
Soviet-Afghan War
During the Soviet-Afghan War (1979–1989), the tunnel became the most critical military choke point in the country. It was the main supply route linking Soviet forces in the south to the Soviet border via the Salang Highway. The mujahideen repeatedly ambushed convoys inside and near the tunnel. In 1982, a fuel truck fire killed over 170 Soviet soldiers and Afghans.[1][4]
During the final Soviet withdrawal in February 1989, the tunnel was the "final battleground" — Soviet helicopters attacked rebel forces to keep the route open.[5] The mujahideen had learned to exploit the tunnel's vulnerabilities: they would ambush convoys in the narrow passages where vehicles could not manoeuvre, and the confined space meant that a single explosion could block the entire route for days. The fuel truck fire of 1982, which killed over 170 Soviet soldiers and Afghans, was one of the deadliest single incidents in the tunnel's history.[1][4]
Destruction and reopening
After the 1989 Soviet withdrawal, maintenance collapsed. In 1997–1998, during fighting between Ahmad Shah Massoud's Northern Alliance and the Taliban, the tunnel's entrances, lighting, and ventilation were deliberately destroyed, rendering it passable only on foot in darkness.[1]
A joint effort by Afghanistan, Russia, France, the United States, and the Halo Trust cleared mines and debris. The tunnel reopened on 19 January 2002. Shortly after, an avalanche trapped hundreds inside — some died from asphyxiation and freezing. In 2004, rehabilitation enabled two-way traffic.[1][6] The 2002 avalanche was one of several that have periodically blocked the tunnel, including a major event in 2010 that killed over forty people and highlighted the ongoing danger of using the tunnel as a primary transport route.[1]
Condition today
The tunnel remains the primary north-south route and economic lifeline, carrying an estimated 4,000–5,000 vehicles daily. It is widely described as decrepit, dangerous, and in need of comprehensive rehabilitation. The Taliban Ministry of Public Works has planned periodic closures for protective asphalt work, and officials have met with Russia's ambassador to discuss full reconstruction.[1][7]