Tunel del Cristo Redentor - Chilean entrance

The Paso Internacional Los Libertadores, also called ''Cristo Redentor'', is a

mountain pass A mountain pass is a navigable route through a mountain range or over a ridge. Since mountain ranges can present formidable barriers to travel, passes have played a key role in trade, war, and both Human migration, human and animal migration t ...

in the

Andes The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the List of longest mountain chains on Earth, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range ...

between

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

and

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

. It is the main transport route out of the Chilean capital city

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

into

Mendoza Province Mendoza (), officially the Province of Mendoza, is a province of Argentina, in the western central part of the country in the Cuyo region. It borders San Juan to the north, La Pampa and Neuquén to the south, San Luis to the east, and the r ...

in Argentina and so carries quite heavy traffic.

Overview

From the Argentine side the route to the pass is a slow, gentle incline until entering a tunnel at approximately elevation. On the Chilean side the slope has a far higher grade, and the road descends down a long series of switchbacks to make the descent. Opened in 1980, the Tunnel of Christ the Redeemer (Spanish: Túnel Cristo Redentor) is long, and serves as an important land crossing between Chile and Argentina. At the middle of the tunnel is the national border, which is the termini of Chile Route 60 and Argentina Route 7. The path can be closed during winter because of heavy snows blocking both ends and the threat of

rockfall A rockfall or rock-fallWhittow, John (1984). ''Dictionary of Physical Geography''. London: Penguin, 1984. . is a quantity of Rock (geology), rock that has fallen freely from a cliff face. The term is also used for collapse of rock from roof or wa ...

. Its name comes from the four-ton ''

Christ the Redeemer of the Andes ''Christ the Redeemer of the Andes'' () is a monument high in the Principal Cordillera of the Andes at 3,832 metres (12,572 ft) above mean sea level on Argentina–Chile border, the border between Argentina and Chile. It was unveiled on 13 ...

'' (''Cristo Redentor de los Andes'') statue placed in 1904 near the

Uspallata Pass The Uspallata Pass, Bermejo Pass or Cumbre Pass, is an Andean pass which provides a route between the wine-growing region around the Argentine city of Mendoza, the Chilean city Los Andes and Santiago, the Chilean capital situated in the central ...

at an elevation of . The pass was the highest point of the road before the opening of the tunnel lowered the maximum elevation by , eliminated 65 switchbacks and shortened the route by . On 19 September 2013, nearly 15,000 Chileans got stranded on the Argentine side, when the pass had to be closed for 10 hours because of freezing temperatures and between 40 and 50 centimeters of snow.

Alternative proposed tunnels

In order to ease the dependence on the only tunnel in the area and to permit year-round crossing, two lower tunnels have been proposed. One of them is the ''Túnel Juan Pablo II'' ("

John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

Tunnel"), which would be constructed at an altitude of between , long, to join the towns of Horcones, Argentina and Juncal, Chile. Another proposed tunnel, named ''Paso Las Leñas'' ("

Las Leñas Las Leñas is a ski resort in Argentina, located in the western part of Mendoza Province. It has reliable powder snow and climate for extreme and off-piste skiing. Construction of the ski center began January 1983, and by July 1983, it opened wit ...

Pass"), at an elevation of and of length, would connect El Sosneado in Argentina (near San Rafael) and Machalí, Chile. The Aconcagua Bi-Oceanic railway is a proposal for a railway base tunnel under this pass.

References

External links

Official site
of Cristo Redentor by

Argentine National Gendarmerie The Argentine National Gendarmerie (, GNA) is the national gendarmerie force and corps of border guards of the Argentine Republic. As at 2011, It has a strength of 30,000 The gendarmerie is primarily a frontier guard force but also fulfils othe ...

Tunnels in Argentina''Cristo Redentor'' Statue
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20060717103915/http://www.frsr.utn.edu.ar/general.html Paso Las Leñasat UTN Facultad de San Rafael, Mendoza. {{DEFAULTSORT:Libertadores, Paso Argentina–Chile border crossings Landforms of Mendoza Province Landforms of Valparaíso Region Mountain passes of Chile Mountain passes of Argentina Mountain passes of the Andes Tunnels in Chile Tunnels in Argentina Tunnels completed in 1980 Principal Cordillera Road tunnels in South America 1980 establishments in Argentina 1980 establishments in Chile de:Túnel del Cristo Redentor pl:Tunel Chrystusa Zbawiciela

Overview

Alternative proposed tunnels

See also

References

External links