Additional Argentina-Chile tunnel project proposed

An agreement has been reached between Chile and Argentina over a long discussed tunnel project. The proposed tunnel would stretch 11.5km and connect Argentina’s Mendoza Province with Chile’s Region VI, with the project having first been mooted as far back as 1992. The cost of the proposed Paso Las Lenas Tunnel has yet to be revealed although the projected route through the Andes Mountains has been announced. The tunnel portals will be some 2,050m above sea level and the project will include the construction
January 9, 2015 Read time: 2 mins
An agreement has been reached between Chile and Argentina over a long discussed tunnel project. The proposed tunnel would stretch 11.5km and connect Argentina’s Mendoza Province with Chile’s Region VI, with the project having first been mooted as far back as 1992. The cost of the proposed Paso Las Lenas Tunnel has yet to be revealed although the projected route through the Andes Mountains has been announced. The tunnel portals will be some 2,050m above sea level and the project will include the construction of a 60km highway in Argentina, as well as 13km of highway in Chile.

The two countries are already working jointly on the Agua Negra Tunnel project, which will also run through the Andes Mountain range and is expected to open to traffic in 2025. The Agua Negra Tunnel will form part of either the Mercosur route or the central bi-oceanic corridor, linking the Chilean port city of Coquimbo with Porto Alegre in Brazil.
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