The longest road tunnel in Italy. The longest road tunnel in the world. Gotthard railway tunnel

Relief earth's surface not perfectly flat, but almost always difficult, so when laying roads it is almost impossible to do without tunnels. The prototypes of tunnels in ancient times were mines, with the help of this military stratagem it was possible to sneak behind the enemy's back unnoticed and fall on his shoulders. Today's tunnels, for the most part, serve completely different purposes. There are a variety of tunnels, differing in length, location and structure. What is currently the longest tunnel in the world?

10. Laerdal Tunnel, Norway (24,510 m)

Trans-Siberian Railway or Great Siberian way, which connects the Russian capital Moscow with Vladivostok, until recently bore the honorary title of...

IN in this case we are talking about a road tunnel that shortens the route from the municipality of Laerdal to the other municipality of Aurland (both in the county of Sogn og Fjordane, Western Norway). The tunnel is part of the European highway E16, connecting Oslo with Bergen. Construction of this tunnel began in 1995 and was completed in 2000. At that time, it became the longest road tunnel in the world, surpassing the famous Gotthard road tunnel by as much as 8 km. Above the tunnel there are mountains with an average height of about 1600 meters.
The Lärdal Tunnel has a unique feature - three large-volume artificial grottoes are chosen in it at the same distance from each other. These grottoes divide the tunnel itself into 4 approximately equal sections. This is not a whim of the architects, but the purpose of the grottoes is to relieve fatigue from drivers driving for a long time in completely monotonous tunnel conditions, and here they can stop and rest.

9. Iwate-Ichinohe, Japan (25,810 m)

The Japanese tunnel connecting the capital with the city of Aomori, at the time of its opening in 2002, it was the longest Japanese railway tunnel until it was overtaken by the Lötschberg tunnel. This tunnel is located 545 kilometers from Tokyo, halfway between Hachinohe and Morioka, and the Chohoku express trains run through it. We started thinking about its construction in 1988, and started it in 1991. The structure was ready for operation in 2000, but the line began operating only in 2002. The tunnel goes down a maximum of 200 meters.

8. Hakkoda, Japan (26,455 m)

The Hakkoda railway tunnel is only a little longer than the previous one. He was a kind of pioneer - before him, there were no long tunnels in the world through which trains could simultaneously move in different directions.

7. Taihangshan, China (27,848 m)

In 2007, a new Taihangshan tunnel was put into operation in China, passing through the thickness of the mountain range of the same name. Before the construction of the New Guan Jiao, it was the longest Chinese tunnel. It became an element of the high-speed railway that connected the capital of the eastern province of Hebei, Shijiach-Zhuang, with the capital of the adjacent Shanxi province from the west, the city of Taiyuan. If previously it took 6 hours to get from one city to another, now an hour is enough.

6. Guadarrama, Spain (28,377 m)

In the same 2007, but in Spain, the longest tunnel in the country, Guadarrama, was opened, which connected the capital of the country, Madrid, with Valladolid. It began construction in 2002, so it is obvious that this was done at a fairly fast pace. This is a rather complex technical structure, which also contains two separate tunnels. Thanks to this, trains run along it simultaneously in different directions. It is especially worth noting that high-speed trains of the AVE system are used here. After the launch of the tunnel, it became possible to get from one city to another in just a few minutes. This was especially liked by tourists, who began to visit Valladolid from the capital more often.

Large and very large objects, animals, people have always attracted people, and we are equally interested in man-made objects, for example, the Great China...

5. New Guan Jiao, China (32,645 m)

This is China's longest railway tunnel. At the same time, being located, as befits an underground tunnel, it is located at a very decent height above sea level (from 3324 meters to 3381 meters). And all because it is part of the second line of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, laid in the Guan Jiao Mountains of the Chinese province of Qinghai. In fact, there are two separate one-way tunnels here. This tunnel took 7 years to build, and it was put into operation at the very end of 2014. Trains are capable of rushing through these tunnels at a speed of 160 km/h.

4. Lötschberg, Switzerland (34,577 m)

The Lötschberg railway tunnel is located on the line of the same name passing through the Alps, and it is located 400 meters deeper than the Lötschberg road tunnel. Passenger and freight trains travel through this one of the world's longest land tunnels. It passes under cities such as Bern, Frutigen, Valais and Raron. This is a fairly new tunnel, because it was completed only in 2006, and already in June of the following year it was officially opened. During its excavation, the most modern technologies drilling, so it was possible to break through it in less than two years. Now over 20 thousand Swiss people use it every week, trying to quickly get to the thermal resorts in Valais.
The arrival of Lötschberg has significantly reduced the amount of traffic congestion in the area, since previously trucks and trucks had to bypass Switzerland, making a large circle to travel just from Valais to Bern. It is curious that in the tunnel there is a source of hot underground water, which the Swiss also do not waste, but use it to heat the greenhouse, where tropical fruits grow thanks to this.

3. Eurotunnel, France/UK (50,450 m)

This Channel Tunnel is a double-track railway tunnel that runs 39 kilometers under the English Channel. Thanks to him, the island of Great Britain was connected to the continent by rail. Since then, it has become possible to board a train in Paris and be in London in two and a quarter hours. The train stays in the tunnel itself for 20-35 minutes.
The grand opening of the tunnel took place on May 6, 1994. It was attended by the leaders of two countries - French President Francois Mitterrand and Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain. The Eurotunnel holds the record for underwater tunnels and is also the longest international tunnel. Its work is managed by the Eurostar company. The American Society of Civil Engineers was full of compliments and even compared the Eurotunnel to one of the seven modern wonders of the world.

2. Seikan, Japan (53,850 m)

This incredibly long Japanese railway tunnel also has an underwater section that is 23.3 kilometers long. It goes 240 meters underground, resulting in 100 meters below the seabed. The tunnel passes under the Sangar Strait and connects Aomori Prefecture (Honshu Island) and the island of Hokkaido. It is part of the Kaikyo and Hokkaido Shinkansen of the local railway company.
In length it is second only to the Gotthard Tunnel, and in terms of its location under the seabed it is the leader in the world. The name of the tunnel contains the first hieroglyphs of the names of the cities that it connects - Amori and Hakodate, just those on Japanese are pronounced differently. The Seikan Tunnel became the second underwater railway tunnel after the Kammon Tunnel in Japan, and it connects the islands of Kyushu and Honshu under the Kammon Strait.

Hydroelectric power plants, or HPPs, generate electricity using the energy of falling water. Hydroelectric power stations most often appear on the largest rivers, which...

1. Gotthard Tunnel, Switzerland (57,091 m)

This railway tunnel, dug in the Swiss Alps, when adding its own length with the length of pedestrian and service passages, will stretch for 153.4 kilometers. At the northern end it exits near the village of Erstfeld, and the southern exit is located near the village of Bodio. The eastern part was completed in October 2010, and the western part in March 2011, after which it became the longest railway tunnel in the world.
Thanks to its construction, transalpine transport became possible. railway connection, and north-west Italy was able to switch from polluting road transport to cleaner and cheaper rail transport. Travel time from Zurich to Milan has been reduced by almost an hour. The tunnel was opened in June 2016. The company that controlled its construction, Alp Transit Gotthard, handed it over to the Swiss Federal Railways in fully operational condition in December of the same year, and on December 11 its commercial operation began.

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Humanity can boast of great achievements. One of them is tunnels. These are truly true architectural wonders. Their development and improvement has occurred and will always occur.

Who and when invented the tunnels is unknown. It is believed that such structures originate from caves, which people in ancient times used as homes.

The modern role of buildings has changed somewhat. In the civilized period, tunnels are used as secret passages, underground planes. They were often used for shelter from enemies.

In modern times, the role of tunnels has changed significantly. It is now a prime environment for high-speed travel. The structure of the structures has a standard layout in different countries. But the length and arrangement of such tunnels can differ significantly.

1. Gotthard Base Tunnel

Its length is 57.00 km. It is often called the Gotthard Base Tunnel. Used as the main railway structure in Switzerland. Its length is the maximum in the whole world.

If you include all passages (pedestrian and service), its length will be about 152 km. The southern end of the structure is located near the village of Bodio, the northern end is located near the village of Erstfed. The structure was originally created for railway needs. With the help of such a tunnel it was possible to create a communication through the Alps.

At the moment, this message is closed - the opening of the structure is planned for the end of 2017. In general, the construction of the tunnel through the Alps lasted for 14 years.

2. Seikan

The length of the structure is almost 54 meters (53.9 meters). The longest in the world underwater tunnel. Built to connect the two Japanese islands of Hokkaido and Honshu.

Translated, its name means “Majestic spectacle” and this is true. The structure has an underwater part (about 23.3 km), since the tunnel runs under the Sangay Strait.

3. Eurotunnel, 49.94 km long

The structure is laid under the English Channel. Connects Folkestone (Kent from the UK) and Calais (part of France).

The tunnel is not the longest in the world, but it has the longest underwater part (as much as 39 km, which is 14.7 km more than Seikan). The tunnel officially opened in 1994. Since then, it has been working flawlessly every day, ferrying millions of people across the channel.

4. Lechberg, 34.70 km long

Representative of the longest land tunnel. Located on the Bern-Milan line, in Switzerland. The design was created in the middle of the 20th century. It managed to connect the area of Bern and Interlaken with the area of Brig and Zermatt.

5. Guadaram tunnel, 28.37 km long

Takes 5th place in the ranking. This is a Spanish railway project that was created in the early 2000s. Its official opening took place in December 2007.

Since that time, people have had a unique opportunity to travel from Madrid to Valladolid and back without any problems. Received the title of the longest and most sought-after device in all of Spain.

6. Iwate-Ichinohe Tunnel, the duration of which is 25.81 km.

This is an example of an underground railway structure in Japan. It connects two distant cities - Tokyo and Aomori. The opening of the structure took place in 2002. The tunnel received the title of the longest underground railway structure in the world.

7. Hakkoda, 26.5 km long

It is one of the longest standing land structures in Japan. The length of its railway section is almost 27 km.

8. Laerdal tunnel

The length of this structure is about 24.5 km. It is rightly called the longest automobile tunnel. Built in 5 years, opened in 2000. It connects two remote municipalities - Laerdal and Aurland, which are located in Norway.

The tunnel is part of the European Highway between Oslo and Bergen. The mountains through which the structure passes can sometimes reach 1600 meters and higher.

The peculiarity of the design is the presence of 3 large artificial caves (grottoes). They are located approximately at an equal distance from each other. Thus, the entire tunnel is divided into 4 approximately equal sections. This was done on purpose. In this way, it was possible to minimize driver stress.

It has been proven that prolonged driving in monotonous conditions greatly tires the driver. It is also convenient to turn around and stop for a rest in such grottoes.

Special designer lighting of the grottoes and a special route design make the trip through the tunnel more exciting. The duration of movement around the structure is no more than 20 minutes.

9. Daishimizu Tunnel, length 22.20 km

Japanese tunnel created for the railway connection between Niigata and Tokyo. All construction work was completed in 1978. It went down in history not only as the longest, but also the most tragic tunnel. The fact is that during its construction there was a huge fire in the building.

As a result, 16 workers died.
Thanks to the opening of the structure, the time spent on travel was reduced by approximately an hour and a half. In addition, the construction of the tunnel made it possible to find a spring drinking water. Thanks to this, the production of natural drinking water began near the tunnel.

10. Wushaoling Tunnel, length - 21.05 km

A one-of-a-kind double railway tunnel that was opened in 2006. Located in northwest China. Created to connect the two ends of Gansu Province.

The design made it possible to reduce the distance between Dakaigou and Longgou by 30.5 km. Received the title of the longest railway structure in all of China. Capable of accepting trains at speeds of 160 km/h. The maximum depth of the structure is 1100 m.

Humanity plans to build the longest, most comfortable tunnel of the future. We are talking about the Japan-Korea tunnel. Its length is expected to be about 187 km. The design should connect Japan and the southern part of Korea. Negotiations on the start of construction work have already begun, but are taking a long time.

It will be useful to find out which railway tunnel is the longest and which tunnel is the longest in the world. It is also interesting to find out the name of the longest tunnel in Russia and in its capital.

Longest railway tunnel

It is known that the longest railway tunnel is the unique Gotthard Tunnel in Switzerland. Its construction began in 1999 - almost seventeen years, although the first sketch appeared in 1947. On June 1, 2016, authorities announced that the tunnel will be ready for commissioning after will pass serious tests that will last until December 2016.

The engineering structure paved the way under the mountain pass called Saint Gotthard. The length of the tunnel is fifty-seven kilometers, and if you count both shafts, as well as auxiliary passages and shafts, it will be more than one hundred and fifty-three kilometers.

From 2017, the Gotthard Tunnel will become part of the unified pan-European high-speed rail network NEAT (NEue AlpenTransversale), reducing the distance between Zurich and Milan. It is assumed that the speed of high-speed trains while passing through this underground tunnel will be about 250 kilometers per hour, and freight trains will reach a speed of at least 160 kilometers.

The tunnel was built so that trains could move in the opposite direction along different trunks. Emergency mines and emergency stations will be provided. Of the already operating railway tunnels, the longest is the Seikan tunnel, located in Japan, which is only three kilometers shorter than the Gotthard tunnel.

The longest tunnel in Moscow

Many tunnels have been built in Russian Moscow. Today, tunnels help relieve congestion on the capital’s roads, and are also the optimal solution to the transport problem of the metropolis. One of the longest is considered to be the one laid under Serebryany Bor. Its length is more than three kilometers. This tunnel is one of the most difficult sections of Krasnopresnensky Prospekt.

Thanks to this construction, there was no need to build a road along Serebryany Bor. The tunnel consists of three tiers. Metro trains move along the lower tier, vehicles move along the middle tier, and the vaulted upper tier is intended for smoke removal. The exact length of this tunnel is 3126 meters. The middle tunnel, which is intended for vehicles, is three-lane, with a lane width of three and a half meters. The diameter of each tunnel is fourteen meters.

For a long time, one of the longest tunnels in the capital was the Lefortovo tunnel. Its length is two kilometers one hundred and fifty meters. So far, the Serebryanoborsky tunnel remains the longest, but it will not remain the longest for long, since there are plans to build several more tunnels, among which will be one whose length will exceed four kilometers.

The longest tunnel in Russia

It would be interesting to find out the details about the longest tunnel in Russia. The Gyumri tunnel, which is a road tunnel and is located in Dagestan, is recognized as such. It is the longest not only in Russia, but throughout the CIS.

This tunnel connects nine mountainous regions of Dagestan with Makhachkala. It plays a vital role, since with its help, residents of mountainous regions can reach Makhachkala in just two to three hours.

Construction began in the seventies, but the construction was suspended in the nineties. In 2008, its reconstruction began, on which more than ten billion rubles were spent. The opening took place in the fall of 2012.

The exact length of this tunnel is four kilometers, two hundred and eighty-five meters. It has operational ventilation, automatic fire alarms, television surveillance, public address and burglar alarms. There is also a completely unique seismic laboratory installed there, which is capable of informing about seismic activity both in this region and beyond. Equipment for this laboratory was specially ordered from Italy.

The longest tunnel in the world

Since there are different types of tunnels, we can name the longest tunnels of each type. So the “champion” among road tunnels is the Laerdal tunnel. It is located in Norway and is twenty-four and a half kilometers long.

But the Delaware Aqueduct is considered the longest water supply tunnel. Since 1945, it has provided New York with water. Its length is as much as one hundred and thirty-seven kilometers.

For a long time, the longest railway tunnel was the Japanese Seikan. But soon movement will begin along another already built tunnel, which is almost three kilometers longer than the Japanese one - this is the Gotthard Tunnel, built in Switzerland under a mountain pass. Its length is fifty-seven kilometers.

The longest metro tunnel is in Guangzhou. The length of the third metro line is sixty-seven kilometers and three hundred meters.

There are also irrigation tunnels. The longest of them is the Turkish tunnel called Sanliurfa. Its task is to distribute the water of the Euphrates River so that the nearby desert lands are transformed into fruitful farms. It consists of two main tunnels of twenty-six kilometers and four hundred meters each. This is an absolute record among reclamation systems.

Not only tunnels, but also bridges are of interest. For example, according to the website, the world's longest railway bridge is 164.8 kilometers long. You can read more about this.
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As you know, the shortest path from point A to point B is a straight line. But what to do if it is impossible to pave the road in a straight line because of a mountain, river or sea blocking the path? This problem is often solved by building a tunnel underground. Modern tunnels represent a real challenge to nature; their complex design is a masterpiece of engineering. In addition, some tunnels are also distinguished by their unusual appearance, due to the features of the landscape or the imagination of the architect. Here is a selection of the most impressive tunnels from around the world.

10 PHOTOS

The material was prepared with the support of the site les-kodru.com.ua - environmentally friendly materials for construction. Building houses is not that difficult. like the construction of tunnels, but it also requires careful selection of good materials. One of these is deck board, used in the construction of verandas, terraces and gazebos.

The project to create a tunnel under the Bosphorus Strait connecting the European and Asian parts of Istanbul started in 2004 and cost the state $3.5 billion. The total length of the tunnel is 13.6 km. Interestingly, sections of the tunnel, which are located 60 meters below sea level, have flexible connections to absorb the energy of tremors. The name "Marmaray" comes from the Turkish words "Marmara", meaning Sea of Marmara, and "ray", meaning rail.

The Eisenhower Road Tunnel is notable for being one of the tallest tunnels in the world. Its height above sea level is 3,401 meters.

A railway tunnel that runs through the Alps and provides freight transport from the north to the west of the country. At the moment it is the longest railway tunnel in the world - its total length is 57.1 km. Although construction work has already been completed, the opening of the tunnel is planned only in June of this year.

This above-ground railway tunnel is an amazing botanical phenomenon. The arched green tunnel was created not by human hands, but by a natural interweaving of trees and bushes. The Tunnel of Love is a popular place of pilgrimage for tourists, especially couples in love. In 2014, Japanese director Akiyoshi Imazaki shot the film “Klevan: Tunnel of Love,” the plot of which is directly related to the Ukrainian tunnel.

The railway tunnel under the English Channel connecting France and Great Britain. The tunnel is approximately 51 km long, but you can travel from Paris to London via the Eurotunnel TGV in just 2 hours and 15 minutes.

This tunnel, which runs 647 meters under the Huangpu River and connects the Bund and Pudong districts, is very popular among tourists. The fact is that the Bund tunnel is not so much a means of transportation as an exciting attraction for entertainment. Its optical technology combined with musical accompaniment makes traveling through the Bund Tunnel an unforgettable experience.

A tunnel in the rock, made under the Judah king Hezekiah to provide the city with water. It served to supply water from the spring of Gion to the Pond of Siloam. Today, a visit to the Siloam Tunnel is included in the program of most excursions in Jerusalem. The tunnel itself is included in the City of David archaeological park complex.

This tunnel, carved into the slopes of the Bernese Alps, opens directly onto the Aletsch Glacier, located next to the beautiful peaks of the Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau mountains. As you exit the Jungfraujoch Tunnel, you will immediately be able to admire a dizzying panorama of the landscape of Switzerland, France and Germany.

The Guoliang Road Tunnel is a real landmark in China. The tunnel, about 1,200 meters long and only 4 meters wide, was built by 12 local residents. Interesting feature The tunnel is that it is partially open - this was done for the purpose of lighting.

The longest road tunnel in the world, the Lærdal Tunnel runs through the mountains and is part of the highway between Oslo and Bergen. The total length of the tunnel is 24.5 km.

The Laerdal Tunnel is currently the longest road tunnel on the planet.

We focus specifically on the word “road”, since there are longer tunnels, but they are used by railway transport. That's why we don't include them in our schedule.

In Norway it is almost impossible to move between settlements without crossing mountains. Those who have traveled to Norway know how beautiful this country is. Unfortunately, its complex geography, abundance of mountains, glaciers and labyrinthine fjords sometimes create conditions in which some Norwegian communities remain cut off from each other and from civilization during the winter. To build communication routes that do not depend on weather and seasonal conditions, it is often necessary to create them directly through the rocks, that is, to build tunnels.

In general, humanity is trying to make things as easy as possible and reduce the distances between points on the globe. One such logical project is the legendary Panama Canal.

The Laerdal Tunnel is one of the roads connecting remote areas of the country.

Where is the Laerdal tunnel?

The tunnel connects the municipalities of Laerdal and Aurland in the Sogn og Fjordane region in southwestern Norway and is part of the E16 road between Oslo (the capital) and Bergen, the country's second largest city.

Geographic coordinates 60.973894, 7.379064

Laerdal tunnel in numbers

Length – 24.51 km
Width – 9 meters
Average height – 7.5 meters
Minimum height – 5 meters
Start of construction - March 15, 1995
Commissioning date: November 27, 2000
The mountains in which the tunnel is built reach 1600 meters in height
Average daily traffic 1000 cars
The average travel time is 20 minutes (at the end of the article you can watch a video of driving through the tunnel, although the sound design of the video is, as they say, “not for everyone”)
Project cost NOK 1.082 billion (or US$113.1 million)
The Laerdal tunnel has two lanes of traffic in opposite directions

Find out about the Øresund Bridge-Tunnel between Denmark and Sweden. If you are confused by the wording “Bridge-Tunnel”, then be sure to read the article at the link above and find out why this definition is the most correct.

Safety of the Laerdal Tunnel

One of the main challenges facing engineers was keeping drivers on their toes during 20 minutes of monotonous driving with the same landscape outside the window. This is indeed very important for drivers who may lose concentration leading to an accident.

To achieve this, the Lärdal Tunnel has small bends between straight sections of the road, and large caves can be found every 6 km along the way. There are three such caves in total. They are designed to break up the monotony of the journey, to give the driver the opportunity to rest or turn around if necessary. For people with claustrophobia, such caves will become a kind of outlet. The caves divide the entire tunnel into 4 approximately equal sections. In addition to three large caves, there are emergency niches every 500 meters.

Lighting and rumble strip

Particular attention was paid to lighting. The main tunnel (the areas between the caves) is illuminated in white tones, simulating daylight. The caves feature blue lighting with yellow lights around the edges to give the impression of a sunrise.

In the center, between the traffic lanes, there is a “rumble strip”. This is a special corrugated surface, when driving over it, increased noise from the wheels is generated. Thus, even if the driver loses his vigilance, he will immediately concentrate on the road.

Pay attention to the markings in the center. It has a corrugated surface. This is a line of rumble or noise.

Air purification system in the Laerdal tunnel

There are no numerous ventilation outlets in the tunnel. Therefore, the second important design problem was the air supply and purification system.
The Laerdal Tunnel was the first tunnel equipped with its own air purification and ventilation unit.

Large fans draw air from both inlets and exhaust contaminated air through one single vent. This exit and the treatment plant itself are located in a separate 100-meter cave 9.5 kilometers from the southern end of the tunnel on the Aurland municipality side. Plus, there are electrostatic and carbon filters, which, in addition to removing dust, purify the air from nitrogen dioxide.

Additional security systems

There are no emergency exits in the tunnel. In case of accidents or fire, a number of precautions are provided. There are emergency telephones marked “SOS” every 250 meters. They allow you to quickly contact the police, fire or medical services. Fire extinguishers are located every 125 meters. Moreover, if an emergency telephone is used or a fire extinguisher is removed, then the brake lights and “turn” and “exit” signs light up throughout the entire tunnel, and the “tunnel closed” signs turn on at both entrances and exits.