The Tunnel Maurice-Lemaire, commonly known as the ''Tunnel de Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines'' is a former rail tunnel adapted to permit road traffic to drive between

Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines (; ; Alsatian: ''Màrkìrisch'') is a commune in the Haut-Rhin department and Grand Est region of north-eastern France. Geography Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines is located in the massif of the Vosges Mountains, where it occupie ...

(

Haut-Rhin Haut-Rhin (); Alsatian: ''Owerelsàss'' or '; , . is a department in the Grand Est region, France, bordering both Germany and Switzerland. It is named after the river Rhine; its name means Upper Rhine. Haut-Rhin is the smaller and less pop ...

Alsace Alsace (, ; ) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in the Grand Est administrative region of northeastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine, next to Germany and Switzerland. In January 2021, it had a population of 1,9 ...

) and Saint-Dié (

Vosges The Vosges ( , ; ; Franconian and ) is a range of medium mountains in Eastern France, near its border with Germany. Together with the Palatine Forest to the north on the German side of the border, they form a single geomorphological unit and ...

Lorraine Lorraine, also , ; ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; ; ; is a cultural and historical region in Eastern France, now located in the administrative region of Grand Est. Its name stems from the medieval kingdom of ...

), France, without needing to drive over the mountain pass. The tunnel is long, which till 2011 made it the longest road tunnel wholly within

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. The tunnel owes its current name to Maurice Lemaire, a former Director General of the

SNCF The Société nationale des chemins de fer français (, , SNCF ) is France's national State-owned enterprise, state-owned railway company. Founded in 1938, it operates the Rail transport in France, country's national rail traffic along with th ...

and a senior politician nationally and regionally during the third quarter of the twentieth century. Lemaire promoted the tunnel's modernisation.

Origins

The tunnel was first mooted in 1866, but the

annexation Annexation, in international law, is the forcible acquisition and assertion of legal title over one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. In current international law, it is generally held t ...

of Alsace-Lorraine by Germany put an end to the project until France recovered the 'lost provinces' in 1919. The tunnel was finally opened to rail traffic in August 1937. Although it was planned only to take a single rail track, the tunnel was wide enough to accommodate two lines: this was a common solution to ventilation issues that plagued French rail tunnels during the years when trains were steam powered. The extra width of the tunnel would prove particularly prescient in view of the tunnel's subsequent uses.

1940–1944

In March 1944, the tunnel was adapted to accommodate a factory for the manufacture of aircraft components. The factory was staffed by prisoners from the

concentration camp A concentration camp is a prison or other facility used for the internment of political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or ethnic minority groups, on the grounds of national security, or for exploitati ...

of Struthof who were also forced to build, at the eastern end of the tunnel, a camp where they were accommodated. Like the main camp, this camp was evacuated and the detainees removed to

Dachau Dachau (, ; , ; ) was one of the first concentration camps built by Nazi Germany and the longest-running one, opening on 22 March 1933. The camp was initially intended to intern Hitler's political opponents, which consisted of communists, s ...

in September 1944.

After the war

With the liberation of France, the tunnel returned to use as a rail tunnel. In June 1973 the rail connection was closed, however, and the

sold the tunnel to the local authorities, reportedly for a good price which reflected the known plans for the future of the tunnel. Plans for conversion of the tunnel to road use had been under serious discussion at least since 1966. The route nationale 59 at that time was required to cross the

Vosges Mountains The Vosges ( , ; ; Franconian (linguistics), Franconian and ) is a range of medium mountains in Eastern France, near its France–Germany border, border with Germany. Together with the Palatine Forest to the north on the German side of the bor ...

via the Pass of Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines, which has an altitude of 772 meters. The area experiences a relatively high level of precipitation in the winter, and the pass frequently becomes barely passable. The Tunnel Maurice-Lemaire was accordingly converted for road use and opened as a toll tunnel in February 1976. Used, on average, by 3,400 vehicles per day of which approximately 40% were trucks, the tunnel became an important economic artery for the

Vosges department Vosges () is a department in the Grand Est region, Northeastern France. It covers part of the Vosges mountain range, after which it is named. Vosges consists of three arrondissements, 17 cantons and 507 communes, including Domrémy-la-Pucelle, ...

despite being closed to vehicles carrying flammable loads (which continued to use the Pass of Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines) on safety grounds.

Closure for safety upgrade 2004–2008

A major fire in the

Mont Blanc Tunnel The Mont Blanc Tunnel (, ) is a highway tunnel between France and Italy, under Mont Blanc in the Alps. It links Chamonix, Haute-Savoie, France with Courmayeur, Aosta Valley, Italy, via the French Route Nationale 205 and the Italian Traforo T1 ...

in March 1999 involved 39 fatalities and led to a general review of road tunnel safety in France. The Tunnel Maurice-Lemaire was closed, initially to trucks and subsequently, in April 2004, to all vehicles, in order that major safety improvements could be implemented. The principal development was the construction of a second parallel ‘safety tunnel’, having a diameter of six meters, bored through the mountain beside the main tunnel. The main tunnel is connected to the safety tunnel by means of a series of safety connections. The upgrade having been completed, the tunnel reopened to vehicles early in October 2008. In the meantime, alternative autoroute based routes were signed for long-distance traffic, while local drivers were obliged to renew their acquaintance with the Pass of Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines. Fortunately most motor vehicles used in France in the present decade are significantly more powerful than their 1970s predecessors.

References

The tunnel on Herrenknecht.com
{{Coord, 48, 16, 11, N, 7, 9, 19, E, type:pass_region:FR, display=title Road tunnels in France