Alpine Mont Blanc Tunnel Webcam
Mont Blanc Tunnel : View of the entrance to the Tunnel of Mont Blanc, Alpes, France. This service is available to users of the Mont Blanc tunnel to be informed in real time about traffic conditions at the entrance to the Tunnel.
The Mont Blanc Tunnel is a road tunnel in the Alps under the Mont Blanc mountain, linking Chamonix, Haute-Savoie, France (45°54′5″N 6°51′39″E / 45.90139°N 6.86083°E / 45.90139; 6.86083), and Courmayeur, Aosta Valley, Italy (45°49′4″N 6°57′7″E / 45.81778°N 6.95194°E / 45.81778; 6.95194). It is one of the major trans-Alpine transport routes, particularly for Italy, which relies on the tunnel for transporting as much as one-third of its freight to northern Europe. It reduces the route from France to Turin by 50 km and to Milan by 100 km.
Begun in 1957 and completed in 1965, the Mont Blanc Tunnel is 11.6 kilometres (7.25 miles) long, 8.6 metres (28.2 ft) wide, and 4.35 metres (14.3 ft) high. The tunnel is not horizontal, but in a slightly inverted “V”. Altitude on the French side: 1274 m (4091 ft); Italian side: 1381 m (4530 ft). The tunnel consists of a single gallery with a two-lane dual direction road. Plans to widen the tunnel were never implemented because of lack of financing and fierce opposition of local residents who objected to the harmful effects of increased heavy traffic.
The tunnel underwent major changes in the three years it remained closed after the fire. Renovations include computerised detection equipment, extra security bays, a parallel escape shaft and a fire station in the middle of the tunnel complete with double cabbed fire trucks. The safety shafts also have clean oxygen flowing through them via air vents. Any people in the security bays now have video contact with the control centre, so they can communicate with the people trapped inside and inform them about what is happening in the tunnel more clearly. A remote site for cargo safety inspection was created on each side: Aosta (I) and Passy-Le Fayet (F). Here all trucks are inspected well before the tunnel entrance. The same areas are also used as staging areas, to smooth the peaks of commercial traffic. View of the entrance to the Tunnel of Mont Blanc and mre webcams from France and Italy Webcam.