Submitted by ChamonixNews on
The Mont Blanc tunnel has closed at 8am this morning 16 October 2023.
It will remain closed to all traffic for 9 weeks.
The scheduled re-opening is on Monday 18 December 2023 at 10pm local time.
It is possible that the tunnel may re-open before the projected date & time.
If that happens, we will update.
The extensive scope of the project has changed. The new shorter deadline for re-opening, no longer allows for experimentation with renovation work on the vault. This work relates to reinforcement of two 300 meter-long portions of the vault. The reinforcement is a major task. When the tunnel was upgraded after the fire in March 1999 and during the the subsequent 3 years of tunnel closure, the vault was not reinforced. This work has been pushed down the road, to 2024. Nevertheless, the maintenance programme still has a significant scope and scale.
The 76 accelerators hung from the ceiling, which regulate the wind in the tube, will all be changed. In addition, elements in the central portion of the tunnel will be prepared for the major works now due to take place in 2024.
The TMB-EEIG is committed to "doing everything possible to ensure that traffic can be restored before 18 December". Therefore, an early reopening of the tunnel is possible, depending on the progress of the work.
For 9 weeks, the road network between France & Italy has lost a major route.
Alternative routes
With the closure of one of the three road routes between France & Italy, all traffic has to take an alternative route.
For 90% of traffic and all HGVs that typically use the Mont Blanc tunnel, they should use the Fréjus tunnel.
Until the snow comes, there is an alternative for light vehicles.
At the moment, only one high mountain pass is open.
The Col du Grand Saint-Bernard (E27 Martigny, Switzerland, to Aosta, Italy closed on 16 Oct 2023 at 21:00hrs
The Col du Petit Saint-Bernard (D1090 from Bourg-Saint-Maurice via La Rosiere in France and the SS26 from the Aosta Valley via La Thuile in Italy.
Le Dauphiné
