As the pass gets blocked by snow and the road over the pass closes from November to May and Lahaul and Spiti districts north of the pass become inaccessible, a need was felt to build a tunnel under the pass. The road tunnel called Atal Tunnel has been excavated and will become operational in September 2020 after formal inauguration by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It will obviate the need to travel through Rohtang Pass. While it now takes 4 to 6 hours to ascend, negotiate and descend the Rohtang Pass, it will take only about 30 minutes to travel through the Rohtang Tunnel.