The longest tunnels in the world. The longest underwater tunnel in the world

Tunnels have always been considered irreplaceable structures necessary for safe passage or passage under the ground. But if earlier such architectural masterpieces helped people to penetrate imperceptibly into enemy territory, today their erection is connected with other goals. At the same time, they differ in structure, location and extent. We decided to tell you about what the longest tunnels in the world are like today.

The most expensive Japanese tunnel

The longest to date is a railway tunnel located in the Land of the Rising Sun. He is called Seikan, which in Japanese means "Majestic spectacle". The tunnel has very impressive dimensions and even has a part hidden under water. Thus, its total length is 53.85 km, and the underwater fragment corresponds to a length of 23.3 km. That is why, in addition to the title of one of the largest land structures, Seikan has another title - the longest underwater tunnel in the world.

The very construction, for the construction of which was spent at least 40 years, was erected in 1988. It contains two stations. However, despite the power of the building, now Seikan is not used as often as before. According to analysts, this is associated with an increase in the cost of travel on the railway transport.

Seikan is the world's longest railway tunnel, the depth of which is 240 m. This wonderful creation of man is under the famous Sangar Strait. According to the idea of the designers, the tunnel unites the islands of Honshu and Hokkaido.

Few people know that the typhoon became the peculiar impetus that led to the creation of this giant, as a result of which five passenger ferries crashed. As a result of this disaster on board only one of them killed more than 1150 tourists, including crew members.

The longest and the world's land connection

The longest tunnels in the world can be conditionally divided into the following types:

• Above-ground;
• Underground;
• Automobile, or road;
• Railway;
• Underwater.

One of the longest land tunnels is Lamberg, once erected in Switzerland. Its length is 34 km. It can easily move trains, sometimes accelerating to a speed of 200 km / h. It is noteworthy that this building helps Swiss travelers for a couple of hours to arrive in one of the most popular resort areas of the country - Valle. According to experienced tourists, it is here that there are numerous thermal springs.

It is interesting that, in addition to its main task, Lamberg, like other longest tunnels in the world, performs a number of others. In particular, near the building itself there are warm underground waters that help to heat Tropenhaus Frutigen - a nearby greenhouse and tropical crops growing on its territory.

One of the largest automobile subways

The longest road tunnel in the world is Lerdalsky. This building, with a length of 24.5 km, is a kind of connecting bridge between the municipalities of Ayrland and Lerdal, located in the western part of Norway. And the Lerdal tunnel is considered to be a continuation of the famous E16 route, which is located between Bergen and Oslo.

The construction of the famous tunnel was started in the middle of 1995, and it ended closer to the 2000th. From this moment the building was recognized as one of the longest automobile subways, leaving behind the famous Gotthard tunnel for as much as 8 km.

Interestingly, the construction passes through the mountains, whose height is above 1600 m. Thanks to the exact calculation of the architects, the experts managed to reduce the load from the drivers moving along the tunnel. And this was achieved by creating three additional grottoes, equidistant from each other. At the same time, these artificial caves divide the free space under the structure into four long sections. This is an unusual and longest tunnel in the world.

The third longest railway tunnel

The third in length among other subways that pass through the railway tracks is Eurotunnel. This structure passes under the English Channel and unites Great Britain with part of continental Europe. With its help, everyone can come from Paris to London in just a couple of hours. Inside the underground pipe train on average remains for 20-35 minutes.

The inauguration of the Eurotunnel took place in May 1994. Despite the fact that a lot of money was spent on building this underground corridor, the world community recognized it as a miraculous masterpiece. Therefore, the structure was assigned to one of the modern wonders of the world. According to preliminary estimates, this longest tunnel in the world will switch to self-sufficiency only after 1000 years.

The longest tunnel in the Alps

Another incredible underground corridor that does not surrender its position for more than half a century is the Simplons tunnel. It is he who is considered the most successful link between the city of Domodossola (Italy) and Brig (Switzerland). In addition, the construction itself has a convenient geographical location, as it crosses the well-known route of the Orient Express and touches one of the lines in the direction of Paris-Istanbul.

Incredibly, the Simplons tunnel has its own history. These walls remember much, for example, that during the Second World War the entrance and exit from it were mined. However, an unauthorized explosion was avoided, thanks to the help of local partisans. Currently, the subway consists of two portals in length of 19803 and 19823 m. Now you know where the longest tunnel in the world.

Unfinished "monster" in the Alps

In the Alps, there is an unfinished Gotthard tunnel, which is called a real monster of modern architectural buildings. This titanium, which is about 57 km long, rests comfortably in a friendly Switzerland. According to the developers of the project, the main purpose of the tunnel is the safe passage of cargo and passengers through the Alps. In addition, with his help you can shorten the time of a three-hour journey from Zurich to Milan to two hours and fifty minutes.

And although the Gotthard tunnel is not yet completed at the moment, it is already breaking records in terms of the amount spent. As reported in a foreign publication, today the construction of an underground corridor cost its owners $ 10.3 billion. Opening of one of the longest railway tunnels is planned to be carried out by 2017.

The longest tunnels in the world: the underwater connection between Japan and South Korea

The South Korean government, together with the Japanese government, developed a plan to build a tunnel, a length of 182 km. Such a decision was made with the aim of increasing trade turnover and accelerating the transport connection between the two countries. This project, according to experts, will be grandiose. And although its erection is only just beginning, developers, engineers and architects have already had to face a lot of problems. In particular, it is not yet clear how the rescue system will work, if an accident occurs accidentally.

The longest and most expensive tunnel in the world

The longest car tunnel, where you can see just eight lanes of the highway, is Big Boston. However, its amazing structure and design, no doubt, fade before the amount that had to pay customers of this building.

According to preliminary data, the total budget spent on building the tunnel exceeded $ 14.6 billion. But in this amount the contractors could not meet, therefore the additional daily expenses amounted to about $ 3 million. Over 150 modern cranes worked in the construction of the Great Boston Tunnel. And in the process involved more than 5,000 employees.

The longest tunnel in all of Spain

Spain also boasts Guadarama - a long land tunnel that unites Valladolid with Madrid. Its length is only 28.37 km. The opening of this building occurred in the near 2007. Later on, Guadaram was spoken of as the largest architectural work in Spain.

A large underground tunnel in Japan

Japan is famous for its underground and overground buildings, among which there is a large railway tunnel Hakkoda. Its total duration is about 26.5 km. Since the opening of this building and to the present time many years have passed. But it still continues to be one of the most unique spacious passages, along which two railroads can pass at once.