Fréjus Road Tunnel

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See also: Fréjus Rail Tunnel.

The Fréjus Road Tunnel connects Modane, France with Bardonecchia, Italy (on the Lyon-Turin itinerary) under the Col du Fréjus in the Cottian Alps.

The tunnel is 13 kilometers (8 miles) long. Construction started in 1974 and it was opened for traffic in 1980. It is one of the major trans-Alpine transport routes between France and Italy being used for 80% of the commercial roadway traffic. Speed limit is 70 Km/h.

Its entries are, on the French side, near Modane, on the A43 motorway coming from Chambéry, and, on the Italian side, near Bardonecchia, on the A32 coming from Turin. Tolls are on both sides.

The tunnel was closed for 2 months in 2005 because of a fire which killed 2 lorry drivers.

Near the midpoint is the Laboratoire Souterrain de Modane[1] (also referred to as the Fréjus Underground Laboratory[2]). Attempts are underway to build a larger laboratory, either in the same tunnel[3] or in the even deeper Lyon Turin Ferroviaire 15 km to the east.[4]