Officially enters today, July 28, 2025, the Second rod of the Frejus tunnelone of the most important transalpine connections between Italy and France. After several years of work, almost 13 km connection Unidirectional in the gallery will allow a safer, modern circulation, in compliance with the regulations that regulate infrastructures Ten-t. The second rod project sees the light a June 2025after the end of the excavations and the related tests of the project. The overall length of the new second rod will be 12,878 mof which 6,380 in Italy And 6,495 on French territory. The internal diameter is of 8 mwith a 6m wide carriageway, (3.5 m la lane + left quay 2.20 m + right edge 0.3 m). As for the costs, these amount to approximately 400-407 million eurosdivided between Italy and France.
As it was made: the technical characteristics
In the first 1600 meters from the French side theexplosive In order to penetrate the mountain, and in the remaining 4800 m one was used TBM from monoscuded rock with variable diameter (9370 mm in the lead, 9330 mm in the center, 9310 mm in the queue), to ensure a gap up to 75 mm (potentially up to 175 mm) to absorb rocky convergences. The new gallery will be a Single lane towards Francewhile the original rod will be inversely single to Italy.
As for the speed limits, these remain unchanged: minimum 50 km/hmaximum 70 km/h with a minimum distance between vehicles of 150 m To mitigate fires or tamping to the long gallery. The project also provides for the presence of a series of transversal connections, in particular 9 Carrable bypass (of which 5 in Italy), on average every ~ 2.1 km, for rescue vehicles, e 10 technical stations along the way (distributed between Italy and France).
A longitudinal ventilation system is also guaranteed in the newly built tunnel with flow accelerators from time to time and plants manned at stations B and C for emergency extraction. There will also be a new one Centralized control seat (PCC) in Italy, modern and advanced, to manage both rods in an integrated way.
A series of plants were then built fire detection able to identify the fumes via the thermographs to the portals, temperature sensors along the way and stop the propagation with hydrants each 130 msize doors in the shelters, communications and speakers and system gives with cameras.
How the Frejus tunnel is done
The Frejus tunnel is an international motorway tunnel that connects Italy and France, crossing the Cozie Alps. Extends between the Italian municipality of Bardonecchia (Province of Turin) and the French one of Modane (Department of Savoy, Alvernia-Rodano-Alpi Region). The motorway axis on which it is inserted is the A32 (Italy) – A43 (France)an integral part of the Transport transe-European network (Ten-t).
RNT20, via Wikimedia Commons.
The tunnel, with a total length of 12.9 kmwas opened in July of 1980. The initial project, approved and then actually carried out, involved the realization of a single bidirectional rod. The Italian gallery portal is located at 1,280 mslm, while the French portal is at an altitude of 1,228 mslm
The tunnel was built in the 70s, in response to the increasing request for transport of goods through the Alps, which, at the time, passed mainly through the Mont Blanc tunnel. The Frejus tunnel is managed in partnership from Sitaf (Italy) e Shelter (France), and represents one of the fundamental road axes for transalpine connections between Italy and France, especially for commercial traffic between Turin and Lyon. In addition to the road tunnel, in the same area there is also the Frejus railway tunnelactive since 1871.
