The history of such a complex engineering invention of Mankind as a tunnel begins in ancient times. Using the simplest tools of labor, people of the Stone Age learned to cut passages in the rocks during mine workings in mines and quarries. Today, there are various tunnels that perform various functions, and in our rating the longest of these unique structures. And to make it easier to understand, we will place them in groups.
Rail
Gotthard Base Tunnel (Switzerland)
If you do not take into account the subway, then this engineering structure under the Lepontinsky Alps is the longest railway tunnel in the world.
Its length is 57.1 km, along with official and pedestrian passages - 153.4 km. It is directed practically along the North-South line. The northern part originates from the village of Erstfeld, and the southern part near the village of Bodio.
The idea of creating a tunnel appeared in the 60s of the last century, but it was built in the 21st century, and opened on May 31, 2016.
Seikan Tunnel (Japan)
In 1954, a large typhoon in the Sangan Bay flooded 5 ferries with passengers, after which the Japanese authorities decided to hold a tunnel under the bay.
The project was adopted back in 1964, and a tunnel was built and tested from 1964 to 1988. The tunnel between the islands of Honshu and Hokkaido, which we wrote about in the list of the largest islands on the planet, lies at a depth of 240 m and is laid below the seabed by 100 m.
Thus, the Japanese engineering marvel is the deepest tunnel under the sea floor in the world, and the length of the unique structure is 53.85 km. It is noteworthy that 23.3 km are laid under the waters of the bay.
Eurotunnel (UK / France)
The longest underwater tunnel in the world was inaugurated in May 1994, and its length under the English Channel is a record 39 kilometers. The length of the unifying symbol together with the land parts is 51 km.
The unique structure, on which trains now run, was erected in just 7 years. Trains between Paris and London move at a speed of 300 km / h, and the permitted speed in the tunnel is 160 km / h.
By the way, our TheBiggest.ru website has an interesting article about the fastest trains in the world.
The construction of a tunnel under the English Channel, which would connect England with continental Europe, began to be discussed at the end of the 18th century, but only in the second half of the 20th century did technical capabilities allow such a unique project to be implemented.
Base Tunnel Lötchberg (Switzerland)
The full operation of the tunnel in the Alps began in December 2007, and it was built in order to unload automobile and passenger traffic from Germany through Switzerland to the cities of Italy.
Its length did not reach 35 kilometers, which puts it in second place among similar land structures. Like Gotthard, it became an integral part of the major European transport project AlpTransit.
The base tunnel passes daily up to 110 freight and passenger trains per day, thereby fulfilling its main task to reduce the load on other transport routes.
And if you want to know about the longest trains, then follow the link! Our site TheBiggest.ru loves all the biggest, powerful, strong and long!
New Guangjiao Tunnel (China)
In the Chinese province of Qinghai, under the high mountain of Guangjiao, a huge tunnel was broken through the railway line connecting Tibet and the Qinghai province.
With a total length of 32.64 km, it has become the longest in China. The work was complicated by the difficult geological situation, as well as the fact that the construction was carried out at an altitude of 3,300 m above sea level.
We opened it at the end of 2014, and before that, we tested the main structures of the structure for 8 months.
Automotive
Lerdal Tunnel (Norway)
The grand opening of the longest auto tunnel in the world took place in 2000, and it was built over 5 years.
The length of the structure in Norway is 24.5 km, and it connects two Norwegian municipalities - Lerdal and Aurland. The height of the mountains in this place is 1,600 m above sea level.
Note that the tunnel in Norway is equipped with three artificial caves, in order to distract the driver from the monotonous landscape of an extended concrete structure.
Zhongnanshan Tunnel (China)
One of the world's longest and longest automobile tunnels in China was laid through the rock of Qinling Mountain, Shaanxi Province of China.
The total length of the two-pipe construction is 18 km 40 m. It connected the two cities of Xi'an and Zhashui, and by design it is one of the most difficult, so laid at a great height.
Its length is determined by the internal decoration. On the walls there are three-dimensional images of trees, the sky is drawn so that drivers do not feel stress while overcoming a long path under the mountain.
By the way, at TheBiggest.ru you can find out about the largest cities in China! These are megacities, which in decades have become the largest cities in the world.
Great Boston Tunnel
The largest, eight-lane highway, laid under the city of Boston, has become the most expensive project in the United States to build such structures.
A network of road interchanges underground, with a total length of 5.6 km, helped solve many problems and significantly improve the environmental situation. Its uniqueness lies in the fact that it is laid between the subway and the ocean bay.
We opened it in 1995, and the total cost of the project amounted to 14.6 billion dollars.
Gotthard Car Tunnel
In third place with a length of 16.9 km, a tunnel in Switzerland was firmly entrenched, linking the two cantons - Uri in the north and Tachino at the southern exit.
We opened it in 1980, and to this day, the passage of vehicles on it is free. Due to circumstances, only one branch is open in which a separate lane is allocated for movement in different directions.
For safety reasons, it is recommended to keep a distance between cars of 150 m, and a speed of no higher than 80 km / h.
Eurasia
An automobile tunnel under the Bosphorus with such a beautiful name was opened in 2016, and it connected the Asian and European parts of Istanbul and Turkey.
Its total length is 14.6 km, of which 5.4 km are laid directly under the waters of the strait at a depth of 106 m.
It should be noted that since 2014, the Marmaray railway project has been operating in Istanbul, with a length of 13.6 km, connecting the Asia and Europe railway under the Bosphorus.
Tunnels of Moscow and Russia
Serebryanoborsky tunnel
At the location in the north-west of the Russian capital, a network of three lines is also called the North-West tunnel, and its total length is 27 km.
A unique structure designed for the movement of cars and metro trains was created in order to preserve the unique natural zone of Serebryanoborsky forestry.
Lefortovo Tunnel
Tunnels in the Russian capital are unique in design and purpose. So the engineering construction in Lefortovo became the final section of the third ring.
Two strands of the 3.5 km long tunnel lay under the Yauza River and the beautiful Lefortovo Park, and this is the longest car tunnel in Moscow.
Sochi Tunnel
But the longest tunnel in Sochi and in general, the longest auto tunnel in Russia, connected the Black Sea coast with the mountain village of Krasnaya Polyana.
Its length is 2.6 km, and at the grand opening in 2005, Vladimir Putin was the first to drive it in a 1956 Volga car.
Severomuisk tunnel
The BAM tunnels, and there are only eight of them, provide the passage of trains in the mountainous areas of a major railway.
The Severomuisk tunnel in Buryatia, with a length of 15.43 km, is the longest railway tunnel in Russia, and solemnly opened it for traffic in 2003.
Gimrinsky tunnel
The tunnel in Dagestan, broken through in rocks at a depth of 90 m, is the longest road tunnel in the vastness of the Russian Federation.
Its total length is 4.3 km. We opened it in 1991, which greatly facilitated the transport connection of Makhachkala with remote mountain regions of the republic.
Plumbing
One cannot but mention the long tunnels along which the main factor of life on Earth — water — is delivered.
Delaware Aqueduct
The length of this grandiose structure is 137 km, which makes it the longest tunnel in the world.
It was opened in 1945, and for many decades water has been supplied through it from the Ronduu reservoir to one of the largest cities in the world - New York.
Interestingly, the years of construction of the aqueduct in the United States, from 1939 to 1945, coincided with the dates of the beginning and end of World War II.
Peyyanne Aqueduct
In the south of Scandinavian Finland, at a distance of 120 km, a unique water supply tunnel stretches through which water flows into the metropolitan area, the population of which is more than 1 million people.
It begins at the beautiful Lake Päijänne, and because of the large slope, energy is not wasted on delivering water, since it moves by gravity through the water supply.
It was built for 10 years, and in 1983, residents of Helsinki, as well as nearby Espoo, Vanta, received purified water from Lake Päijänne.
Fancy tunnels
In conclusion, we will present the most interesting natural objects and tunnels located in different corners of our planet. We omit the abandoned tunnels, since they mainly relate to abandoned metro lines.
Tunnel of Love
Ukraine boasts an unusual natural tunnel near the village of Klevan, in the Rivne region.
The tunnel of lovers, so called in tourist guides, 4 km long, is a unique natural phenomenon that formed over the railway in the forest.
Tunnel Tree at Sequoia National Park
Wooden tunnels are a thing of the past, but in one of the US parks, the fallen tree was not removed, but an unusual passage was made for vehicles.
The centuries-old fallen sequoia has become a unique attraction of the American National Park.
Tower tunnel
Built under the Thames, the Tower Subway is only 411.48 meters long, but it is one of the oldest tunnels in the world.
Originally built under water in 1870, the structure was used to drive a small train with one wagon. It was later converted for pedestrians, and after the construction of the Tower Bridge, it is used as a water supply.
Finally
The word “tunnel” has become a part of everyday life of the modern high-speed world, and in the youth subculture a tunnel is a piece of jewelry that is inserted into a puncture in the earlobe, and in winter, fashionable women use a scarf to warm their heads and necks. In one of the computer games there is a gang, the name of which sounds menacingly - “Tunnel snakes”. Guess what kind of game?
But nevertheless, tunnels were and remain important architectural structures that help people overcome natural barriers, as well as deliver the necessary substances over long distances.
Article author: Valery Skiba