Mont blanc mountain11/14/2023 ![]() The tunnel underwent extensive modernisation works in 1990, including the addition of safety features such new video surveillance cameras, 8 pressurized emergency shelters, a sprinkler system and other safety maintenance. Surveillance cameras were installed in 1978. Three years later the tunnel was inaugurated by the French president, Charles de Gaulle, and the Italian President, Giuseppe Saragat on 16 July 1965. The opening was successful, with an axis variation of less than 13 centimetres (5 inches). In 1962, the French and Italian drilling teams met on 4 August. That same year, the STMB ( Société du tunnel du Mont Blanc) was formed, which became ATMB ( Autoroutes et Tunnel du Mont Blanc) in 1996. This was preceded by the signing of a national charter for the tunnel construction, ratified by the parliaments of France (1957) and Italy (1954). Agreement between France and Italy and start of construction by 1959 ĭue to political turmoil and World War I and World War II, the project did not start until 1959, when excavations on the tunnel officially began. In 1908, a first design was presented by French engineer Arnold Monod, to much interest from Italian and French politicians. However, the idea did not receive widespread attention until 1907, when Francesco Farinet, a Member of Parliament of the Aosta Valley, advocated constructing of the tunnel. The idea of building a tunnel underneath the Mont Blanc to avoid the need for lengthy circumnavigation dates back to the nineteenth century during the heyday of the railway. Energy: 37 million kilowatt-hours and 2,700,000 litres (590,000 imp gal 710,000 US gal) of fuel for trucks and engines.Explosives: 711 tonnes (700 long tons 784 short tons) of explosives were used to blast 555,000 m 3 (19,600,000 cu ft) of rock.Workforce: five engineers and 350 workmen worked an estimated grand total of 4.6 million man-hours to complete the project.Since then, the combined traffic volume of the former has remained roughly constant. Road traffic grew steadily until 1994, even with the opening of the Fréjus tunnel. Īn alternative route for road traffic between France to Italy is the Fréjus Road Tunnel. Following a fire in 1999 in which 39 people died, which showed how lack of coordination could hamper the safety of the tunnel, all the operations are managed by a single entity: MBT-EEIG, controlled by both ATMB and SITMB together, through a 50–50 shares distribution. The Mont Blanc Tunnel was originally managed by the two building companies. At this spot, it lies 2,480 metres (8,140 ft) beneath the surface, making it the world's second deepest operational tunnel after the Gotthard Base Tunnel. The tunnel passes almost exactly under the summit of the Aiguille du Midi. ![]() ![]() At the time of its construction, it was three times longer than any existing highway tunnel. ![]() The tunnel consists of a single gallery with a two-lane dual direction road. The passageway is not horizontal, but in a slightly inverted "V", which assists ventilation. Drilling began in 1959 and was completed in 1962 the tunnel was opened to traffic on 19 July 1965. Two operating companies were founded, each responsible for one half of the tunnel: the French Autoroutes et tunnel du Mont-Blanc (ATMB), founded on 30 April 1958, and the Italian Società italiana per azioni per il Traforo del Monte Bianco (SITMB), founded on 1 September 1957. The agreement between France and Italy on building a tunnel was signed in 1949. Northeast of Mont Blanc's summit, the tunnel is about 15 km (10 mi) southwest of the tripoint with Switzerland, near Mont Dolent. It reduces the route from France to Turin by 50 kilometres (30 miles) and to Milan by 100 km (60 mi). The passageway is one of the major trans-Alpine transport routes, particularly for Italy, which relies on this tunnel for transporting as much as one-third of its freight to northern Europe. It links Chamonix, Haute-Savoie, France with Courmayeur, Aosta Valley, Italy, via the French Route Nationale 205 and the Italian Traforo T1 (forming the European route E25), in particular the motorways serving Geneva ( A40 of France) and Turin ( A5 of Italy). The Mont Blanc Tunnel is a highway tunnel between France and Italy, under the Mont Blanc mountain in the Alps. ![]() Mont Blanc Tunnel in Italy Mont Blanc Tunnel in France Mont Blanc Tunnel in 2008 ![]()
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