Mont Blanc tunnel closure between Italy and France postponed

The 11.6km Mont Blanc tunnel was due to close for 15 weeks from next Monday for maintenance work. The delay was agreed by Italian Transport Minister Matteo Salvini with 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 closed 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, Beaune added, while a source at the Italian Transport Ministry said it could be pushed back by up to a year at most.

A formal decision on the Mont Blanc Tunnel closure is expected next week. Long queues of heavy goods vehicles 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 crosses the Alps and connects 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 the 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