The world's longest tunnel. The longest tunnel in the world

I didn’t make any further ado and simply asked: It would be interesting to read about tunnels, railways and others. The longest, the most complex, etc. Norway, Switzerland, other countries... in China they seem to be building very impressive tunnels now.

First, remember, well, now let's get down to the records. And we will start with the longest tunnel.

The construction of the Gotthard railway tunnel on the border of Switzerland and Italy is being completed. It is the Gotthard Base Tunnel (GBT, Gotthard-Basistunnel) that will connect Switzerland and Italy, and will also become the longest and deepest tunnel in the world. The southern portal is located near the village of Bodio, and the northern one is near the village of Erstfed. It was created for rail transport across the Alps.

Today, the longest underground route is considered to be the Japanese Seikan Tunnel, connecting the islands of Honshu and Hokkaido. Its length excluding aqueducts is 53.6 kilometers. Its other famous brother, which ranks second, is the Eurotunnel between England and France, its length is about 51 km.

Upon completion of work on the Gotthard Tunnel, the length of this beauty will be 57 kilometers, and taking into account service and pedestrian passages - 153.4 km. And then it will become the very, very tunnel in the world.

The tunnel consists of two parallel underground highways for two-way traffic, connected by galleries every 325 m, along which trains will travel in opposite directions. Inside the tunnel there will be two emergency railway stations connected to the surface by emergency shafts.

In general, the idea of ​​​​building such a tunnel was proposed by the government back in 1947, but the first construction version was prepared only in 1962. However, the main problem was the design - which tunnel to choose, a single tunnel with two single-tracks or two separate single-tracks? However, the decision on this issue dragged on for an extremely long time and was finally made in 1998, when an additional tax on heavy transport was introduced in the country.

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But in fact, the first exploration work began much earlier, back in 1993, and the main ones only in 2001. In total, about 3,500 workers were hired, which included not only builders, but also geologists, engineers and planners. Work was carried out continuously, seven days a week and 24 hours a day. To dig a tunnel in rocks, both several tunnel boring systems and drilling and blasting operations were used. The tunnel has two common “trunks”, under which trains will travel in both directions. Along the route there are two railway stations, at which it will also be possible to change trains. By the way, the total construction costs are just over 10 billion US dollars.

Regular traffic through the tunnel will open in 2016. Experts say that the most advanced technologies are used in construction; special drilling rigs with a disk diameter of 10 meters began work on opposite sides. On October 15, 2010, under the gaze of all the world's television companies, the last 3 meters of rock collapsed - the tunnel was completely built.

And now I will tell you about the longest water tunnel. For some reason it is in first place on Wikipedia for the longest tunnels. The longest water tunnel is in England, it began to be built in the 18th century, and now its length is 154,000 meters - this is the Thirlmere aqueduct

It was built from 1890 to 1925

Thirlmere Dam Raven_Crag

Recently, it has turned out that the word “most” is increasingly being used in relation to China - the most populous country, the fastest growing economy, one of the most ancient civilizations on Earth. Not surprisingly, the world's widest tunnel was also built in China. The opening of the world's widest tunnel took place on October 31, 2009.

This tunnel, running along the Yangtze River and connecting Shanghai with Chongming Dao Island, is part of a twenty-five and a half kilometer tunnel-bridge project with a budget of 12.6 billion yuan ($1.84 billion).

The internal diameter of this tunnel structure is 13.7 meters, length – 8900 meters. During the construction of the tunnel by Shanghai Tunnel Engineering Co. a drilling rig with a diameter of 15.43 meters was used, which is also an absolute world record.

The road from Shanghai to Chungming Dao Island through a tunnel through which a railway line and a six-lane highway passes takes just over twenty minutes.

Chongming Dao Island is located at the mouth of the Yangtze River and covers an area of ​​1,200 square kilometers, which is equal to 20 percent of the entire territory of the Shanghai region.

Due to poor transport links, the development of the region was hampered; its share in Shanghai's total GDP was only one and a half percent.

The Chinese authorities plan to turn Chongmingdao into an example of a modern territorial unit with developed infrastructure and meeting all environmental requirements. The new transport system is also expected to help attract additional investment to the region.

Here are some more unusual tunnels: The Tower Tunnel, Japan One of the most interesting buildings in Japan is the Gate Tower in Osaka, Japan. This building is the result of a rare compromise between a landowner and the Japanese government.

The expressway runs through the 6th, 7th and 8th floors of this 16-story office building - right through the building. On the first floor, the floor information says that floors 6-8 are “rented by Hanshin Expressway.” The tunnel is not connected to the building in any way. It is supported on special supports and enclosed in a special structure, which helps protect the building from noise and vibration.

Here's another interesting example:

Tunnel Log, California, USA

Tunnel Log - "Tunnel Log" is a tunnel that was carved into a giant fallen sequoia tree in Sequoia National Park, California, USA. The tree, 84 meters high and 6.4 meters in diameter, fell in 1937 due to natural causes and blocked the road. The following year, park staff cut a 2.4-meter (8-foot) high and 5.2-meter (17-foot) wide tunnel into the tree, making the road passable again.

Well, again China:

One of the most unusual roads in the world is the Guolian Tunnel, which is located high in the mountains of Henan Province, China.

This tunnel is only a few decades old, but during this time Guolian has become one of the most famous roads on the highways, all thanks to its unusual location and amazing design! The fact is that the Guolian tunnel is laid in rock and is a bizarre cave, more than a kilometer long!

Read. We've already discussed this.

Now let's look at the deepest sea tunnel in the world:

Turkey has successfully tested the recently completed railway tunnel under the Bosphorus Strait, connecting the European and Asian parts of Istanbul, Reuters reports. Its length is 13.6 km, maximum depth is 56 m. Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan launched the first test train through the tunnel in August 2013.

The completion of the tunnel has been postponed many times, and now its official launch is scheduled for October 29, the anniversary of the founding of modern Turkey. This tunnel will be the first megaproject completed in Istanbul.

The tunnel is part of the larger $5 billion Marmaray project, which includes upgrading the existing commuter rail system. According to government plans, 1.5 million people will use the 76 km lines every day.

Meanwhile, the interval of trains under the Bosphorus will be 2 minutes, and the throughput of the tunnel will reach 75 thousand passengers per day.

Construction of the tunnel began in 2004. a Japanese-Turkish consortium, financed by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) and the European Investment Bank (EIB).

Let us note that the construction of this tunnel was initially an extremely complex project from a geological point of view, since the strait is located in a seismically active zone.

Highest road tunnel:

In Sichuan province in southwestern China, construction of a tunnel through Trola Mountain has begun. This structure is part of the Sichuan-Tibet highway complex. The tunnel will be the highest in the world, as it will be located at 4240-4380 m above sea level.

Currently, construction of the 14.06 km long approach to the tunnel is in full swing. This object is located in the east of Mount Trola. The length of the tunnel itself will be 7 km. The construction of this road section will be completed in four years. Investments in the project are estimated at 1.12 billion yuan ($172 million). Once the tunnel is put into operation, travel time through Mount Trola will be reduced by at least 2 hours - to just over 10 minutes.

Let us recall that the construction of a highway from Sichuan to Tibet with a length of 2415 km has become the most difficult in the world. The road crosses 12 rivers and 14 mountains at an altitude of 4000-5000 m above sea level.

From 2011 to 2015 Chinese authorities will allocate $954 billion to develop the country's transport infrastructure. Most of the allocated funds will be spent on the construction of new roads, including expressways. Thus, in the next five years, 108,000 km of expressways will be built in China. By the end of 2015, they will unite more than 90% of all cities in the country with a population of more than 200,000 people. Currently, the total length of roads in the Middle Kingdom exceeds 3.9 million km.

Oh, yes, I completely forgot, what is the longest road tunnel in the world?

Laerdal Tunnel is a road tunnel connecting the cities of Laerdal and Aurland, part of the E16 highway between Oslo and Bergen. The 24.5 kilometer tunnel is the longest road tunnel in the world.

Construction cost 120 million euros. Opened on November 27, 2000 by King Harald the Fifth of Norway.

Natural conditions in Norway such as mountainous terrain, risks of rockfalls, northern climate, and many fjords create difficulties for reliable road transport. In addition, the ferry transport common in this country cannot always provide reliable year-round communication. Therefore, in Norway, in the last 20 years, the emphasis in transport construction has been on the construction of bridges and tunnels (the world's deepest Eiksund road tunnel is also located in Norway). Construction of the tunnel took place from 1995 to 2000.

The tunnel is divided into four sections using special grottoes.

These grottoes serve as a turning point for vehicles, including road trains, and as a place to stop for rest.

Designer lighting of the grottoes, as well as the layout of the route, make the trip through the tunnel not so monotonous and “boring”; the duration of the trip through the tunnel is about 20 minutes.

A large number of safety measures are used in the tunnel. Emergency telephones are installed every 250 meters along the route, fire extinguishers are located every 125 meters, and in addition to the 3 grottoes, 15 more turning points have been made.

In the Ledardal tunnels, for the first time in the world, in addition to air ventilation, air purification facilities are used.

The tunnel has an average traffic volume of about 1,000 vehicles per day and is also free of toll. The mountains through which the tunnel passes reach a height of 1600 meters.

A trip through the tunnel, thanks to thoughtful safety measures, does not seem boring, monotonous, and does not put drivers to sleep. Half an hour passes - and after the stone, rough, monochromatic walls, the beautiful landscapes of central Norway appear in all their harsh beauty.

Laerdal is famous for the Salmon Center, an ancient street with houses from the 17th-18th centuries and the equally famous Borgund Stave Church (30 km away), which was built in 1180 (!!!) and has been perfectly preserved to this day.

At the local information center you can get comprehensive information about the bus schedule to the church, and offers for hotels and guest houses. It’s not very clear whether Laerdal is a city or a large village by local standards, but it’s very, very cozy there. You can get around the town by bike in literally 5 minutes, or just take a walk around the town-village.

Help: Is the Laerdal tunnel really the longest road tunnel in the world? At first I don’t want to believe this, but statistics and figures convince me:

So, the top 10 longest tunnels in the world:

1. Gotthard Base Tunnel 57.00 km

The largest tunnel under construction in the entire history of Europe, the planned length is 57 km, the structure will become the longest railway tunnel in the world. The project is scheduled to be completed in 2015

2. Seikan 53.90 km (Japan) - is today

the longest railway tunnel connecting the islands of Honshu and Hokkaido. The tunnel opened to traffic on March 13, 1988. It has the titles of the longest railway tunnel and the longest underwater tunnel.

3. Eurotunnel 49.94 km, laid under the English Channel between Folkestone (Kent, UK) and Calais (France). Although this tunnel is inferior in total length to the Seikan Tunnel, its underwater section (about 39 km) is 14.7 km longer than the underwater section of the Seikan Railway Tunnel. The Channel Tunnel officially opened in 1994.

4. Lötschberg 34.70 km - the longest land tunnel on the Bern - Milan line, located in Switzerland. Its length is 34 kilometers. It connects the area of ​​Bern and Interlaken with the area of ​​Brig and Zermatt.

5. Guadarrama Tunnel 28.37 km - a railway tunnel in Spain connecting Madrid and Valladolid by high-speed route. The tunnel opened in December 2007. Has the title of the longest tunnel in Spain.

6. Iwate-Ichinohe Tunnel 25.81 km - an underground railway tunnel in Japan connecting Tokyo and Aomori. The tunnel opened in 2002 and at its opening had the title of the longest underground railway tunnel.

7. Hakkoda 26.5 km - the longest land tunnel, Hakkoda, is located in Japan, the length of the railway section is 26.5 kilometers.

8. Laerdal tunnel 24.50 km

9. Daishimizu Tunnel 22.20 km - A railway tunnel in Japan connecting Niigata and Tokyo. During the construction of the tunnel, a fire and smoke occurred, which claimed the lives of 16 workers.

10. Wushaoling Tunnel 21.05 km

Double railway tunnel in Gansu province in northwestern China. Holds the title of longest railway tunnel in China

The longest railway tunnel in Russia is the Severo-Muysky Tunnel, its length is 15.3 km.

The longest tunnel of the future is the Japan-Korea tunnel, 187 kilometers long, which will connect Japan and South Korea; negotiations on its construction have been ongoing for a long time.

In Moscow, the leader in terms of length is the Lefortovo tunnel. It lies in the south-eastern part of Moscow and is part of the third transport ring. The longest tunnel in Moscow has a length of 3,246 kilometers, it is also one of the largest tunnels in Europe. The tunnel is located under the Yauza River and Lefortovo Park. The Lefotovo Tunnel has seven lanes for vehicles (three lanes in the north direction and four lanes in the south direction).

Each strip is three and a half meters wide. The Lefortovo tunnel is a deep tunnel (up to 30 meters), such a depth is dictated by the need to absorb noise and vibration from a large traffic flow.

On average, approximately 3,500 vehicles pass through this tunnel per hour, and it copes well with this intensity. But, during peak hours, the flow increases to seven to eight thousand, which causes frequent accidents, including fatalities. According to statistics, this tunnel is one of the most dangerous sections of roads in Moscow in terms of the number of accidents, in connection with this it received an unflattering nickname - the “tunnel of death”.

The reason for such a high danger lies in a banal violation of traffic rules related to speed limits and ignoring the solid dividing line between traffic lanes, which prevents changing lanes. The maximum permitted speed in the tunnel is 60 km per hour, but the “record” for speeding is 236 km per hour.

10

A railway tunnel in Japan is 53.85 km long with an underwater fragment 23.3 km long. The tunnel descends to a depth of about 240 meters, 100 meters below the seabed. It lies under the Sangar Strait, connecting Aomori Prefecture on the Japanese island of Honshu and the island of Hokkaido - as part of the Kaikyo and Hokkaido Shinkansen line of the Hokkaido Railway Company. It is the deepest seabed and second longest railway tunnel in the world.

9

The railway tunnel in Switzerland is 57.1 km long (including service and pedestrian passages - 153.4 km). The northern portal of the tunnel is located near the village of Erstfeld, and the southern portal is located near the village of Bodio. After the completion of the eastern part (October 15, 2010) and the western part (March 23, 2011), it became the longest railway tunnel in the world.

8 Beijing Subway: Line 10

The high-speed rail transport system of Beijing, the capital of China, has been in operation since 1969 and has been rapidly developing since the end of the 20th century. It ranks second among metro systems in the world in terms of line length and annual passenger flow, as well as second place in peak daily passenger flow after the Moscow Metro.

7 Guangzhou Metropolitan: Line 3

The decision to build a metro in Guangzhou was made in 1989. Construction began in 1993. The first line was put into operation on June 28, 1997. In 2002, the second line was opened, in 2005 - the third and fourth. On December 28, 2013, metro line 6 was opened.

6

It was built in 1987 in Sweden. The cross section of the tunnel is 8 m2.

5

Within a large water management system. of the Orange River project, in the middle reaches of the river, the Hendrik-Verwoerd and Le Roux dams and reservoirs were built, designed to regulate the river flow, irrigate agricultural lands, industrial water supply, and for hydropower purposes. Part of the flow from the Hendrik-Verwoerd reservoir is transferred through a tunnel through the mountain range to the south of South Africa.

4

One of the longest tunnels is located in Liaoning province. China has previously taken part in the implementation of large-scale road projects. For example, the Danyang-Kunshan Great Bridge is the longest bridge in the world.

3

Päijänne water pipeline- a conduit tunnel located in the south of Finland. Its length is 120 km, depth from 30 to 100 m from the surface. The purpose of constructing the water pipeline is to supply water to the capital agglomeration of Finland, in whose cities (Helsinki, Espoo, Vantaa and others) more than a million people live.

2

Many of us have the luxury of instant access to clean water, but few people think about the miracles of technology that allow us to pour ourselves a glass of water. New York is one of those cities that lacks fresh water sources. As the population grew, aqueducts began to appear. In 1945, the Delaware Aqueduct appeared. Today it supplies the population of the metropolis with water by 50 percent. It is the second longest continuous tunnel in the world with a length of 137 kilometers. It was created by drilling and blasting hard rocks. The aqueduct works incredibly efficiently - 95 percent of the total volume of water is supplied independently.

1

The longest tunnel in the world- Thirlmere aqueduct. Its length is 154,000 meters, construction began in 1890 and ended in 1925. Formally, it is not the longest tunnel in the world, since it is not a continuous tunnel, but it is generally accepted to consider it the longest tunnel in the world. The aqueduct was built to carry water from the Manchester reservoir, and about 250 thousand cubic meters of water passes through it every day.

The relief of the earth's surface is not perfectly flat, but is almost always complex, 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 one could 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)

In this case, we are talking about a road tunnel that shortens the route from the municipality of Laerdal to another 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.

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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.

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. The most modern drilling technologies were used during its excavation, 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.

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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, they are just pronounced differently in Japanese. 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.

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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 construction of 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, trans-Alpine rail transport became possible, and north-west Italy was able to switch from more 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.

Tunnels are true architectural wonders that have been developed and improved since ancient times. The tunnels probably originate from caves that ancient people used as homes. If we look to the future, to a more civilized period, we can see that tunnels are used as secret passages, usually underground. They were used to hide from enemies. Nowadays, tunnels are built for completely different purposes. In this collection I will tell you about the longest tunnels in the world and their purpose

1. So, the longest tunnel in the world at the moment is in Japan. This railway tunnel is 53,850 meters long. Just imagine how many days it will take to travel on foot before you reach the other side

The Seikan Tunnel is also the longest underwater tunnel in the world. After World War II, Japan felt the need to connect the islands of Hokkaido and Honshu, so that the country would be geographically unified. From its planning in 1946 until its official opening on March 13, 1988, it took more than 40 years to complete. Construction cost a lot of money: ?538.4 billion, equivalent to $3.6 billion

Today, unfortunately, Seikan is not used as often as it once was because air travel is both faster and cheaper. However, this building was one of the main reasons why Japan is strong and united to this day. It is worth mentioning that this tunnel will remain the longest until 2016, when the Gotthard Base Tunnel in Switzerland is built

2. The Channel Tunnel, or the longest international tunnel in the world, connects the United Kingdom and France with a 50,500 meter passage. The tunnel connects the cities of Folkestone in the UK and Calais in France. The tunnel also boasts the world's largest car-carrying train, the Eurotunnel Shuttle.

Construction of the Channel Tunnel was frozen for almost two hundred years from 1802, due to constant hesitation on the part of the British and political instability. Ultimately, construction began in 1988 and ended quite quickly in 1994. The Channel Tunnel was also one of the candidates for inclusion in the list of the Seven New Wonders of the World. Undoubtedly, this great structure played a key role in the unification of Britain with the mainland, although from a material point of view it still remains unprofitable

3. Compared to other tunnels Lötschberg tunnel(Lötschberg) is still very young, it was completed in 2006, and officially opened in June 2007. The Lötschberg Tunnel is the longest tunnel in the world on land, measuring 34,700 meters in length. The tunnel runs between the Swiss cantons of Bern and Valais and is used by freight and passenger trains. Thanks to the latest technologies, the tunnel was built very quickly, in less than two years. Every week, more than 20,000 Swiss people use it as the shortest route to Welsh thermal spas. Thanks to L?tschberg, traffic in the region has been significantly reduced, as previously trucks had to bypass Switzerland to get from Bern to Valais. Interestingly, the heat from underground water from the tunnel heats the Tropenhaus Frutigen greenhouse, where tropical fruits are grown

4. in Norway - the longest road tunnel in the world, its length is as much as 24,000 meters, located in the county of Sogn og Fjordane. Until 1999, Switzerland's Gotthard Road Tunnel was the longest road tunnel until Laerdal was built in 2000

The Lardal tunnel was designed according to modern standards. Unlike most tunnels, Laerdal is divided into four parts, each with special lighting. The lighting effect mimics natural light at dawn and dusk. Another positive thing is that you don’t have to pay any money for travel.

Driving through tunnels is always perceived in a special way, very exciting - you see how the headlights catch images and road signs, how the air rustles during a fast drive and perceive the light at the end of the tunnel with special joy. We told you about the four longest tunnels in the world, we wish you to drive through each of them and get an unforgettable experience

What is a tunnel? This is an underground structure whose length is significantly greater than its width and height. There are many of them built in the world - pedestrian and bicycle ones, for moving vehicles, water, laying cables and other human needs. The article talks about the longest tunnel in Moscow.

Purpose

Tunnels are needed to be able to overcome various kinds of obstacles, such as mountains or rivers (in some places, building a bridge across a body of water is problematic from an engineering point of view or it interferes with the passage of ships). With their help, you can significantly reduce the distance and time in the road; tunnels also help relieve traffic flows or avoid their intersection.

Short story

This building is one of the most ancient. More than ten thousand years ago, people were already cutting down passages in the mountains, mine shafts, catacombs and quarries. The Greeks, Romans, Egyptians and inhabitants of Babylon, long before the new era, carried out underground work for the extraction of iron ore, coal, the construction of temples and tombs, cave cities, water supply, and later for the passage of transport.

In the Middle Ages, many tunnels were built for military purposes; in later times they began to be built as waterways of communication.

The first tunnel for the movement of trains was built in 1826-1830 for communication between Liverpool and Manchester; in Russia, the first such structure appeared a little later - in 1862.

In 1927, in the USA, the world's first tunnel was built under the Hudson River. In the USSR, a similar structure appeared in 1959 in Moscow on Kutuzovsky Prospekt. Today there are many underground roads in the capital. Next, we’ll find out what the longest car tunnel in Moscow is. Its name and description, interesting facts are presented below.

The longest tunnel in Moscow: name, description

In the capital of the Russian Federation, the leader in terms of mileage is Its length - 3 kilometers 246 meters, it is one of the largest in Europe. Opened in December 2003. It is located in the south-eastern part of the city, passes under the Yauza River, and is part of the 3rd transport ring.

There are only 7 lanes of traffic here: 3 of them go north, and 4 go south. The width of each strip is 3.5 meters.

The longest tunnel in Moscow lies at a depth of 30 meters, which is necessary for noise and vibration absorption of a huge traffic flow. It is also equipped with the necessary life support and safety systems: good ventilation, drainage and fire protection systems. Video cameras and payphones are installed along the entire length of the underground road, and a radio signal is received. A special control center monitors the operation of all communications.

"Tunnel of Death" - an undeserved nickname

The average throughput capacity of the Lefortovo underground structure is 3,500 vehicles per hour. But during peak hours, the flow intensity increases to 7-8 thousand cars per hour, and it is difficult for the tunnel to cope with such a load, so accidents often occur here, in which people sometimes die. According to statistics, this longest tunnel in Moscow is one of the most risky road sections. For this, people called it the “tunnel of death.”

However, the main causes of all road accidents, as is known, are violations of traffic rules. It’s the same in the Lefortovo automobile subway: with a maximum permitted speed of 60 km/h, not a single car travels slower than 75-80 km/h. Speed ​​record - 236 km/h! The violations are confirmed by video recordings of many accidents.

Another record holder

After Lefortovo, the longest tunnel in Moscow is Serebryanoborsky. It was opened at the end of 2007. Its total length is 3 kilometers 126 meters, its depth is just over 40 meters.

This second longest tunnel in Moscow consists of three “sleeves” and forms part of Krasnopresnensky Prospekt, construction of which continues to this day. This underground road is located under the state-protected natural area of ​​Serebryany Bor. It originates at the intersection of Osennaya and Krylatskaya streets and ends in the west of Moscow in Trinity-Lykovo.

Now you know which is the longest tunnel in Moscow.