The Fréjus Tunnel, a busy link between France and Italy, has already been subject to temporary closures and alternating traffic since the beginning of the year to allow for necessary maintenance, testing and expansion work.
Since 1 January, alternating traffic has been introduced in the tunnel every night from 22:30 to 04:30, except Sundays and Mondays. This measure will remain in place until 4 February to minimise disruption during peak periods.
However, a complete closure is planned from Friday 26 January at 22.00 to Monday 29 January at 06.00. During this period, the tunnel operator, Société Française du Tunnel Routier du Fréjus, will carry out tests in preparation for the opening of a second tube. The new twin-tube tunnel is expected to carry up to 2,000 lorries per day.
In addition to the complete closure, the Fréjus tunnel will be subject to alternating traffic on 9, 16, 23 and 30 January.
The schedule for these nights includes alternating closures for both directions – France to Italy and Italy to France – between 22:30 and 04:30. This will allow safety work to be carried out during these specific hours.
It should also be noted that from the beginning of 2024, the number of vehicles passing through the tunnel will increase by 5.1%.
Photo credits @ Florian Pépellin, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons