Europe 1 with AFP // Photo credit: JEAN-PIERRE CLATOT / AFP 11:56 am, September 27, 2023

The famous Mont Blanc tunnel, which connects the France to Italy, will be closed from 16 October for a period of two months in order to carry out maintenance work. After consultations at government and regional level, the technical maintenance work "requires the total closure of the structure for nine weeks," said the EEIG-TMB in a statement.

The Mont Blanc tunnel, a major axis between the France and Italy, will be closed from October 16 to December 18 for maintenance work, postponed after a landslide in Maurienne, announced Wednesday the manager of the structure. After consultations at government and regional level, the technical maintenance work "requires the total closure of the structure for nine weeks," said the EEIG-TMB in a statement.

These works of "replacement of slab elements in the central portion of the tunnel" and "change of accelerators (fans) on the vault" will precede a "test site of renovation of the vault (...) postponed to 2024," the manager said.

"90% of heavy goods vehicles will go" to Fréjus

Maintenance work on the Mont Blanc tunnel was initially scheduled for 4 September, but a spectacular landslide on 27 August in the Maurienne valley led to the closure of the Fréjus tunnel, another important passage between the two countries.

To avoid congestion, the construction of the Mont Blanc tunnel was then postponed, and the work divided into two phases. In its press release, the GEIE-TMB, which "estimates that about 90% of heavy goods vehicles will go" to the Fréjus, also ensures "to make every effort so that traffic can be restored before December 18".