France. Haute-Savoie department. Termographic control at the Mont Blanc Tunnel which is a road tunnel in the Alps under the Mont Blanc mountain, linking Chamonix, Haute-Savoie, France, and Courmayeur, Aosta Valley, Italy. It is one of the major trans-Alpine transport routes, particularly for Italy, which relies on the tunnel for transporting as much as one-third of its freight to northern Europe. Begun in 1957 and completed in 1965, the Mont Blanc Tunnel is 11,611 metres long, 8.6 metres wide, and 4.35 metres high. The tunnel is not horizontal, but in a slightly inverted "V". Altitude on the French side: 1,274 m ; Italian side: 1,381 m. The tunnel consists of a single gallery with a two-lane dual direction road. Plans to widen the tunnel were never implemented because of lack of financing and fierce opposition of local residents who objected to the harmful effects of increased heavy traffic. Truck Driving Through Tunnel. 6.12.2011 © 2011 Didier Ruef