Following over 17 years of construction, $12 billion in spending, and eight lives lost, the largest tunnel in the world is set to open in Switzerland at the beginning of June reports Atlas Obscura.
The new tunnel beats out the famous Chunnel between England and France by four miles!
For years, the alps have served as an economic, cultural, and physical barrier between the countries of Europe and with the newly constructed Gotthard Base Tunnel— those barriers will be no more.
Once the tunnel is complete, trains will travel 35.5 miles through the mountainous terrain of southern Switzerland at speeds of 155 mph. When the tunnel opens to the public in December, the time it will take to travel from Zürich to Milan will be cut in half.
Find the entire Atlas Obscura article here:Â The World’s Longest and Deepest Tunnel to Open in Switzerland