Albert II Tunnel opens

© Government Communication Department

After four and a half years of construction work, the Albert II Tunnel, which links Boulevard du Jardin Exotique and Boulevard Rainier III, was opened to traffic at 3 p.m. on Monday. 

At a low-key ceremony during the morning, Vicar General Guillaume Paris, accompanied by Mr Olivier Lavagna, Director of Public Works, performed a blessing. 

From a technical point of view, the Albert II Tunnel is a unidirectional tunnel with one traffic lane. It is more than 1,700 metres long and 6.10 metres wide, with headroom of 4.50 metres and a gradient of 6%. The altitude of the upper entrance is approximately 121 metres, while the lower exit is at 24 metres. The speed limit is 50 kilometres per hour, the same as in the Rainier III Tunnel. 

More than 200 people were involved in the construction of the tunnel, which required the excavation of nearly 400,000 tonnes of rock and the use of 250,000 tonnes of concrete – five times the quantity used to build the new Yacht Club. The total cost of the project was EUR 106.50 million. 

Safety is a key element of the structure, which has eight fire shelters, spaced 200 metres apart; 32 fire niches, spaced 50 metres apart; a gallery running parallel to the tunnel providing access for the emergency services; and a link to the Rainier III Tunnel. 

The safety provisions are completed by a fibre-optic fire detection system and a system which automatically detects fire by analysing CCTV images from 22 cameras. 

There are also underground ventilation plants at either end of the tunnel. 

It is expected that 12,700 vehicles per day, including 1,300 lorries, will make use of the tunnel. It should significantly reduce traffic on the Boulevard du Jardin Exotique–Boulevard Rainier III–Avenue Prince Pierre route, as well as on the Basse Corniche road. 

The direction of traffic in the tunnel can be reversed if required. Redevelopment work has been carried out at the upper and lower entrances to the tunnel to make this option available.

The video at the link below shows how the tunnel would operate with the direction of traffic reversed:

http://www.monacochannel.mc/Chaines/Gouvernement-Princier/Videos/Presentation-des-sens-de-circulation-du-tunnel-Albert-II