Closure of Mont Blanc tunnel between Italy and France postponed

Rome (Reuters) – The closure of the Mont Blanc tunnel between Italy and France for maintenance will be postponed due to a landslide on the French side, according to Italy’s transport ministry. The tunnel, which spans 11.6 kilometers, was initially scheduled to close for 15 weeks starting next Monday. However, a delay has been agreed upon by Italy’s transport minister Matteo Salvini and his French counterpart Clément Beaune.

The French transport minister acknowledged that the alternative route through the Frejus road tunnel may reopen fully in approximately one week. However, the Franco-Italian rail link, which runs in parallel, will likely be out of service for a minimum of two months. While the road remains accessible to cars, it is currently closed to heavy goods vehicles.

Beaune added that the closure of the Mont Blanc tunnel will be postponed for a few days at the very least. Italian sources from the transport ministry suggest that the delay could potentially extend up to a year. A decision regarding the rescheduling of the tunnel maintenance is expected to be announced next week. This week, substantial queues of heavy goods vehicles have already formed on the Italian side of the tunnel.

Both the Mont Blanc and Frejus tunnels are vital for Italy’s exports to France, raising concerns about the economic impact of their simultaneous closure. In 2021 alone, 1.4 million trucks carrying over 12 million tons of goods passed through these two tunnels, as reported by the Italian business lobby Assolombarda.

Reporting from Rome by Federica Urso and Alvise Armellini, and from Paris by Jean-Stephane Brosse. Editing by Keith Weir.