China's last county without highway to have key highway tunnel completed

China's Metok County will say farewell to its history of no highway links soon, as highway tunnel construction is expected to be completed Wednesday in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, road builders said on Tuesday.

The 3,310-meter Galongla Tunnel, built at an altitude of 3,750 meters, has only three meters left and tunnel construction is expected to be completed Wednesday, according to Wu Shengbing, a member of the armed police who is at the site.

The work crew was drilling holes and placing explosives to prepare for tomorrow's blast, said Wu.

About 90 km between the end of the tunnel and Metok County, Nyingchi Prefecture, has yet to be built, since construction materials have to be sent through the tunnel, said Wu.

The Metok Highway, 117 km long, links Bome County and Metok County.The highway construction is expected to be completed by the end of 2011, said Zhao Shijun, head of the region's Transport Department.

Source:Xinhua