The Lopper Road Tunnel is a

tunnel A tunnel is an underground or undersea passageway. It is dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, or laid under water, and is usually completely enclosed except for the two portals common at each end, though there may be access and ve ...

in central

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. The tunnel connects

Hergiswil Hergiswil is a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Nidwalden in Switzerland. History Hergiswil is first mentioned around 1303-09 as ''ze Hergenswile''. Geography Hergiswil has an area, , of . ...

in the

canton of Nidwalden Canton of Nidwalden or Nidwald ( ; ; ; ) is one of the Canton of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is composed of eleven municipalities and the seat of the government and parliament is in Stans. It is tradi ...

with

Alpnach Alpnach is a village in the canton of Obwalden in Switzerland. It comprises the villages of Alpnach Dorf, Alpnachstad and Schoried. History Alpnach is first mentioned about 870 as ''Alpenacho''. Geography Alpnach has an area, , of . Of this ar ...

in the

canton of Obwalden Canton of Obwalden or Obwald ( ; ; ; ) is one of the Canton of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is composed of seven municipalities and the seat of the government and parliament is in Sarnen. It is traditio ...

, and forms part of the A8 motorway. The tunnel was opened in 1984, and is long. The tunnel has two lanes (one in each direction), and there is no

central reservation A median strip, central reservation, roadway median, or traffic median is the reserved area that separates opposing lanes of traffic on divided roadways such as divided highways, dual carriageways, freeways, and motorways. The term also ap ...

. The tunnel runs under the Lopper, a shoulder of

Mount Pilatus Pilatus, also often referred to as Mount Pilatus, is a mountain massif overlooking Lucerne in Central Switzerland. It is composed of several peaks, of which the highest () is named ''Tomlishorn''. Geography and transport The whole mountain ...

which extends into

Lake Lucerne Lake Lucerne (, literally 'Lake of the four Waldstätte, forested settlements' (in English usually translated as ''forest cantons''), , ) is a lake in central Switzerland and the fourth largest in the country. Geography The lake has a compli ...

. The northern portal of the Lopper Tunnel is near to that of the Kirchenwald Tunnel on the

A2 motorway A, or a, is the first Letter (alphabet), letter and the first vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''English alphabet#Letter names, a'' (pronounced ), plural ...

, and most of the junction between the two motorways lies to the north of their respective portals. However the link for westbound traffic from the A2 to the A8 utilises a long single-lane link tunnel within the mountain between the two main motorway tunnels. The Lopper I railway tunnel, on the

Zentralbahn The Zentralbahn is a Swiss railway company that owns and operates two connecting railway lines in Central Switzerland and the Bernese Oberland. It was created on January 1, 2005, with the acquisition of the independently owned Luzern–Sta ...

Brünig line, parallels the Lopper road tunnel. The Lopper II railway tunnel, on the Zentralbahn Luzern–Stans–Engelberg line, parallels the Kirchenwald road tunnel.

References

Buildings and structures in Nidwalden Buildings and structures in Obwalden Tunnels in Nidwalden Tunnels in Obwalden Road tunnels in Switzerland Tunnels completed in 1984 {{Switzerland-struct-stub