Mont Blanc tunnel closure between Italy and France postponed

The 11.6km Mont Blanc tunnel was due to close from Monday for 15 weeks for maintenance work, a delay agreed by Italian Transport Minister Matteo Salvini and his French counterpart Clément Beaune.

The Mont Blanc Tunnel connects France and Italy under the Alps. Photo: Reuters

The French minister said he hoped the Frejus tunnel alternative route could be fully reopened in a week, but added that the parallel Franco-Italian rail link would be shut for at least two months. The alternative route is currently open to cars but not heavy goods vehicles.

The closure of the Mont Blanc tunnel will be delayed by at least a few days, Mr Beaune added, while a source at the Italian Transport Ministry said it could be pushed back by as much as a year.

A formal decision on the closure of the Mont Blanc tunnel is expected next week. Long queues of heavy trucks have been lining up at the entrance to the Italian tunnel this week.

The Mont Blanc and Frejus tunnels are key to Italy's exports to France, and there are concerns that a double closure would cause heavy economic damage.

According to Italian trader Assolombarda, 1.4 million trucks carrying more than 12 million tonnes of goods passed through the two tunnels in 2021.

The Mont Blanc Tunnel, which runs through the Alps connecting France and Italy, was started in 1959 and opened to traffic in 1965. The entire tunnel is 11.6 km long and was considered a great road traffic project at that time.

Mai Anh (according to Reuters, Zhihu)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/hoan-dong-cua-duong-ham-mont-blanc-noi-y-va-phap-post262928.html