A truck gets out of the tunnel of the Mont-Blanc from Italy as a car enters on January 12, 2017 in Chamonix Mont-Blanc during the presentation of the new computerized safety control system of the Mont Blanc Tunnel, southeastern France. Photo by JEAN-PIERRE CLATOT / AFP
The planned closing of the Mont Blanc tunnel, which connects Italy and France, has been postponed, according to a notice published on the Mont Blanc tunnel website.
The 11.6 kilometer (7.2miles) tunnel was scheduled to be closed from Sept. 4 to Dec. 18 for renovations. Last year, more than half a million cargo trucks passed through the 60-year-old passageway, according to the website.
The postponement comes after a landslide forced the indefinite closing of the neighboring Frejus tunnel, which would have provided an alternate route to send cargo between Italy and France.
Bottlenecks for freight transportation through the Alps increased last month after a train derailment seriously damaged the Gotthard tunnel between
Switzerland and Italy. After a temporary halt, traffic through the 57-kilometer passage reopened in late August at reduced capacity, forcing freight haulers to seek out alternative routes.
