Linking France and Italy
The Mont Blanc Tunnel: at the heart of Haute-Savoie, linking France and Italy
Opened in 1965, the Mont Blanc road tunnel links the Chamonix Valley in Haute-Savoie in France with the Aosta Valley in Italy, covering a total distance of 11.6 kilometres.
Today, it takes approximately a quarter of an hour to travel through the tunnel. At the beginning of the twentieth century, it took three days on foot or on donkey to cross from one side to the other of the immense natural barrier formed by the Mont Blanc massif.
The Mont Blanc Tunnel EEIG: a French-Italian sole operator
ATMB, founded in 1957 for building the Mont Blanc Tunnel, and SITMB (Italian Mont Blanc Tunnel Company) are the two concession holders.
Since the reopening in 2002, a European Economic Interest Grouping (EEIG) has been responsible for the overall operating of the tunnel and control areas on behalf of the two companies.
The EEIG Mont Blanc Tunnel staff are provided by ATMB, SITMB and GSA.
Composition and responsibilities of the Mont Blanc Tunnel EEIG
Traffic: mainly light vehicles
The tunnel is mainly used by light vehicles, representing 66% of traffic.
The number of heavy goods vehicles is decreasing, with a 33% fall between 1998 and 2008.
Types of vehicles and changes in traffic in the Mont Blanc Tunnel: numbers and trends