It is learned that the world's deepest large-section highway tunnel and China's first highway tunnel to pass directly through a glacier—the exit end of the main line of the West Tianshan Extra-Long Tunnel—saw the "Wensu" tunnel boring machine successfully launch on July 3, marking the entry of the West Tianshan Extra-Long Tunnel construction into a critical攻坚 period.

The West Tianshan Extra-Long Tunnel is a key control project of the G219 Zhaosu–Wensu Highway Project, with a total length of 15.7 km, running north to south through the Tianshan Mountains. The tunnel portal begins in Xiate Township, Zhaosu County, Ili Prefecture, passes through the Tomur Peak glacier area and the Muzart Daban, and exits in the Muzart River source area of Bozidun Township, Wensu County. The maximum burial depth of the tunnel reaches 2,432 m, with a section of 11.96 km at a depth of over 1,000 m, accounting for 76%; the top is covered by glaciers and crosses an active fault zone. With complex terrain and geological conditions, it is China's first highway tunnel to pass directly through a glacier and also China's deepest highway tunnel.

The "Wensu" is the largest-diameter tunnel boring machine to cross the Tianshan Mountains and currently the most technologically advanced TBM of its class to cross the Tianshan Mountains. With a total length of 235 m, a weight of about 1,800 t, and a diameter of 8.83 m, it was independently developed by China Communications Construction Group.

According to reports, in response to the special geological conditions of the West Tianshan Extra-Long Tunnel such as great burial depth, long distance, and rockbursts, the "Wensu" has been given extensive targeted designs, such as an expandable cutterhead, a multi-level and multi-point grouting system, and a high-torque, high-power cutterhead drive system; it has also been equipped with advanced technical functions such as an advanced geological prediction system, a CFC advanced water exploration system, an advanced detection drilling rig, large-scale refrigeration equipment, and an SHP rockburst detection system, enabling safe, environmentally friendly, and efficient tunneling under various complex geological environments in the West Tianshan Extra-Long Tunnel (water inrush, large deformation of soft rock, rockbursts, high ground temperature, etc.).

To meet the ventilation and smoke exhaust needs during tunnel construction and operation, the West Tianshan Extra-Long Tunnel innovatively adopts the "main tunnel + side parallel pilot tunnel" construction technology. "This is also the first Class I highway tunnel in China with a length of over 10 km to use a side parallel pilot tunnel as a ventilation shaft. This technology takes advantage of the advance of the TBM hard-rock boring machine, reasonably opens cross passages, increases the working faces of the main tunnel, and achieves 'long tunnel, short excavation'; its efficiency is 3–5 times that of the traditional drill-and-blast method."

The West Tianshan Extra-Long Tunnel is located in Wensu County, Aksu Prefecture, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, which has been a shining pearl on the Silk Road since ancient times. The "Silk Road Pearl" pattern painted on the cutterhead of the "Wensu" highlights the regional cultural characteristics of Xinjiang. After the completion of the G219 Zhaowen Highway, the mileage from Yining City to Aksu City will be shortened by more than 440 km, rapidly connecting directions such as China–Russia, China–Kazakhstan, China–Tajikistan, China–Kyrgyzstan, China–Pakistan, and China–India, and linking 11 important border ports including Alashankou as well as key transportation routes out of Xinjiang and into Tibet.