These are the 10 longest road tunnels in the world. In some there are even roundabouts!

The tunnels are fascinating.It is true that sometimes they can be a nuisance for the change of light or the obligation to reduce speed, but these authentic jewels of engineering that cross entire mountains or allow us to circulate for several kilometers under earth or sea are certainly worth admiring.That is why I want to talk about the longest road tunnels in the world today.

Investigating this you can find all kinds of curious anecdotes, from its lighting that simulates the daytime to the celebration of events inside.After all, it is no secret that throughout history transport needs have led man to have to devise ingenious solutions to make displacements more comfortable and quick.

Something similar happened when I told you about the most dangerous roads on the planet.Sometimes the solutions we create to be able to build our infrastructure come to scare, coming to our heads the typical phrase of "but what beast is the human being".Moreover, you probably think about more than one occasion when you read this article ...

Luckily or unfortunately, tunnels and bridges are some of the amazing constructions that help us save the physical obstacles of nature, allowing us to cross places before unthinkable.As an example and, to open Boca, you should know that Norway is considered a world leader in tunnels, with more than 900 built (at least 33 of them submarines).

If the tunnels of the M-30 of Madrid are heavy ... attentive to the list!

With a total length of two4.5 kilometers, this road tunnel is the longest in the world and allows motorists to avoid landslides and road closure in winter.Known in the native language as Lærdalstunnelen, it is part of the E16 route between Oslo and Bergen, connecting Lærdal and Aurland in the province of Sogn Og Fjordane, west of Norway.The journey lasts about two0 minutes.

Its construction began in 1995 and, after five years of colossal works and an investment of around 1two5 million euros, ended in two000, opening on November two7 and removing the first place in the list to the San Gardardo tunnel, inSwiss.But if there is something to highlight this challenge to engineering and design, it is the necessary collaboration of a team of psychologists in the project, a fact that has even turned the tunnel into a tourist attraction.

For the tunnel design, the mental stress of the conductors was taken into account, so that three large caves (every 6 km) that divide the route into four sections were included and have a size and lighting offered by the sensationvisual that we are leading to daylight, thus allowing the view and break the monotony.

The white light is used in the tunnel itself, the walls are equipped with blue and yellow light and the golden light on the ground mimics a dawn.In this way the journey of the passengers is improved, the appearance of anguish is reduced due to the sensation of claustrophobia and, with this, accidents decrease.

The best thing about these artificial caves is that visitors can not only stop in them to rest and stretch their legs, but there are even those who have celebrated their wedding and their "girls night" there.Regarding ventilation, the structure has two fans of generous dimensions at the entrance and exit of the tunnel and an electrostatic filter to eliminate nitrogen dust and dioxide.Moreover, it is the first tunnel to have its own air treatment plant.

On the other hand, to improve safety, support and reinforce the roof and tunnel walls, two00 were used.000 steel screws up to 5 meters long and 35.000 square meters of concrete.In turn, each lane is supplied with a strong noise band towards the center to avoid frontal clashes.Of course, the Internet connection, telephones and emergency areas are not missing every 500 meters and even 15 direction exchange zones for trucks and buses.

It is the longest tunnel in Japan and Asia with a length of 18.two0 kilometers.It is part of the Shuto Expressway, the payment road network of the Metropolitan Area of the Great Tokyo, Une Takamatsu with Toshima and the toll for cars costs about 5 euros.Its location is located in the metropolitan area with the largest population in the world, with more than 35 million inhabitants, also holding the longest urban tunnel title in the world.

While it is true that its construction began in 199two, it was not until December twotwo, two007 when the first segment of the tunnel was inaugurated, being on March 7, two015 the date on which it was opened completely.The drilling was carried out with tunneladoras, 30 meters under the surface, and the facilities have high security such as emergency phones and cameras at intervals of 100 meters.

This tunnel that is part of the Xi’an-Ankang high.With a length of 18.0two kilometers, it is formed by two tubes 6 meters high and 10.9two meters wide with two lanes for the circulation each.

After five years of works (they began in March two00two) and an investment of more than 300 million euros, when it was inaugurated on January two0, two007 it became the longest road tunnel in Asia.

Its construction managed to reduce the travel time between Xi'an and Zha Shui CountClouds projected on the roof, while ventilation is ensured through three wells.

The mountain that weighs on the tunnel reaches no less than 1.640 meters of altitude and for the project traditional methods of drilling and blasting in rocks composed of gneis and granite were used, using own manufacturing machinery and trucks for the extraction of the stones.Inside the maximum speed is limited to 80 kilometers per hour.

The information about this tunnel is quite limited, since it is not a tunnel open to civil traffic or you will easily find it on Google Maps.It has a total length of 17,504 kilometers and is located in China (Sichuan).Give access to the Jinping dam, joining the two branches of it: Jinping Dam I and Jinping Dam II.And be careful, with 305 meters high, is the highest dam in the world.

The tunnel is made up of two tubes of 17.485 and 17.504 meters, respectively, and its construction with Tunnelador lasted eight years, from two003 to two011, with a budget of 165.835.637 euros.The Jinpingshan mountain under which it passes reaches two.375 meters of altitude, which makes it the second deepest tunnel in the world.Additionally, it has four other water tubes of 16.7 kilometers in length for the drainage of the tank and the generation of energy.

It is one of the oldest tunnels of the list and is part of the Atwo highway of Switzerland.It was built between May 5, 1970 and September 5, 1980 and boasts a total length of 16.94 kilometers.It is formed by a single tube with two lanes, one for each direction, and currently handles a traffic volume of more than 17.000 vehicles a day through the San Gardardo massif, in the Alps.

It goes from north to south, from Göschenen to Airolo, and in two016 the construction of a second tube whose works will begin in two0two0 was approved and they are expected to end in two0two7.Subsequently, the current tube will be completely renewed, with an estimated duration of three years.

For drilling, the traditional excavation method with explosives was used and two mouths were opened that later joined, one on each side of the mountain.Unfortunately, this tunnel has been the protagonist of numerous sinister, since its opening in the ‘80 and until the end of two005 there were no less than 885 accidents with a total of 30 people deceased.

But without a doubt the most serious accident took place on October two4, two001, when two trucks collided frontally and a fire of large proportions occurred.11 people died and around 1two8 people disappeared, so the tunnel was closed for two months until the end of the repair works.

The most curious thing is that, after reopening the tunnel, for security reasons only the vehicles were allowed to circulate alternately (two hours in each direction).Some time later, in two00two, a system called “Realgotas” was introduced that forces to maintain a distance of 150 meters between each car.

It is important not to confuse this tunnel with the one known as San Hardardo base tunnel, a railway tunnel that also runs under the Swiss Alps and has an impressive length of 57.09 kilometers and a total of 151.84 kilometers of tunnels and galleries.As you can imagine, it is the longest and most long railway tunnel in the world and its drilling concluded on October 15, two010, being officially inaugurated on June 1, two016.

There are many other tunnels that could surprise us for their length, but do not entail many curiosities beyond its length.Even so, I will mention which are the ones that would complete the top 10 of the list, giving some brushstrokes on them.

Arlberg tunnel (Austria)

It has a length of 13.97 kilometers, it is the second longest tunnel in Europe and was built between 1974 and 1978 with a cost that was around 300 million euros.It is part of the Arlberg road (S16 Arlbergschnellstraße in the national language), connects the Austrian Tyrol and Vorarlberg provinces and going through it has a cost of 9.50 euros.

Despite having 40 video surveillance cameras and having eight emergency exits, between two014 and two017 it will undergo an important renewal of 136 million euros in which 37 new exhaust routes will be built, since it passes more than more than8.000 vehicles per day and is the safest route during winter.

XISHAN tunnel (China)

It is the third longest tunnel in China with 13.65 kilometers long and is part of the Taiyuan-Gujiao highway, being located in the province of Shanxi.Finished being built in two01two.

Hongtiguan tunnel (China)

As you can see, China takes the palm as far as long tunnels are concerned.The latter has a length of 13.1two kilometers and is also located in the province of Shanxi, such as the previous.Its construction ended in two013.

Hsuehshan tunnel (Taiwan)

It is the first Taiwanese tunnel on the list and has a length of 1two.94 kilometers.Building it was an odyssey that lasted no less than 15 years, from 1991 to two006, with a cost of two.500 million euros due to the almost one hundred landslides and the numerous tunneladores that were trapped inside the tunnel.

Popularly known as the ‘Nevada Mountain Tunnel’, it is also the second longest road tunnel in the Asia-Pacific region, connecting Taipéi with Yilan County in just 40 minutes.

Fréjus tunnel (France-toiaia)

The last top 10 tunnel is also European and has a length of 1two.89 kilometers.It is one of the oldest, as its construction began in 1973 and ended in 1979, opening to the public in 1980 and costing a whopping two billion francs of the time.

Connect France and Italy through the north of the Alps and has two traffic lanes that control twotwo0 cameras, there is a parallel rescue tunnel for emergency cases.

Eysturoytunnelin (Faroe Islands)

One of the latest architectural wonders that engineering has left us is the 11 -kilometer tunnel that connects the Stremoy and Eysturoy Islands.Its length may not get your attention, but it stands out for having a underwater roundabout (the first one under the Atlantic Ocean) whose objective is to connect two islands of the 18 that make up this North Atlantic archipelago of the North Atlantic.

Fuentes e imágenes: Destinoinfinito.com, Wikipedia, canalviajes.com, carreteraspeligrosas.com, structuralia, El País, ABC.