AT THE HEART OF THE ROAD TRANSPORT INDUSTRY.

Call our Sales Team on 0208 912 2120

Frejus tunnel follows Hannibal's tracks

11th September 1982
Page 38
Page 38, 11th September 1982 — Frejus tunnel follows Hannibal's tracks
Close
Noticed an error?
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.

Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

OVER THE last few years operators in international haulage have been faced with a steadily growing choice of routes as new motorways and alpine crossings are opened to traffic. Some of the new alternatives to long-established routes have been less attractive than others. The St Gotthard tunnel in Switzerland, where hours restrictions on the southern approach road obstruct free movement by , commercial vehicles (which in any case are limited to the national maximum of 28 tonnes), and places where customs clearance facilities have not kept pace with the additional traffic volume generated are obviously not popular.

With the success of the Montblanc tunnel, the first allweather crossing of the Alps between France and Italy, a new tunnel, at Frejus, can now lay claim to being one of the most direct links for commercial vehicle traffic between Lyon and Turin. Opened to private cars and light vehicles in July 1980, admission of haulage vehicles through the Frejus Tunnel was gradually phased-in over the following 18 months as customs inspection and other facilities for commercial operators became available.

Now the 12.5km-long tunnel, between Modane in France and Bardonecchia, Italy, has flattened the famous Mont Cenis route — where Hannibal is said to have crossed the Alps with his armies and 37 elephants — by eliminating the climb to a pass height of 2,088m (6,800ft) and substituting an almost level bore, with a 9m-wide roadway, at a height of 1,225m (4,000ft).

The Frejus project, brainchild of Pierre Dumas when mayor of Chambery, began in 1962 with the formation of two companies, one French, the other Italian, to secure financing of the construction work which started in 1974. The tunnel was financed entirely by local communities, chambers of commerce and industrial enterprises in the Rhone-Alps region.

The Frejus road crossing of the Alps enables drivers to make considerable savings in journey times. With a purpose-built autoport on the approach road to the French tunnel portal now fully operational, the operating company is giving special rates to regular users, effectively discounts of up to 20 per cent over single journey charges.

Road approaches on the Italian side are being upgraded and the projected extension of the autostrada over the 80km from the tunnel exit to Turin is now being given a high priority.

Tags


comments powered by Disqus