La Línea (tunnel)

La Línea (English: The Line) is a highway tunnel between the cities of Calarcá, Quindío and Cajamarca, Tolima in Colombia. It is in the central range of the Andes mountains. It is the longest road tunnel in Latin America,[1] and in the Americas.[2]

The total length of the tunnel is 8,652 metres (28,386 ft), its western entrance being at 2,420 metres (7,940 ft) above msl, 19 kilometres (12 mi) east of the city of Armenia and the eastern one at 2,505 metres (8,219 ft) above msl, at 37.8 kilometres (23.5 mi) west of Ibagué.[3]

Constructions of the pilot tunnel started on 30 September 2004 and both sides of the pilot met on 2 August 2008.[4] In September 2007 Ministry of Transport launched the tender process for the construction of tunnel and connecting roads.[5]

The tunnel was finally opened on 4 September 2020, after 14 years of construction work, at a total cost of around 2.9 trillion pesos (US$870 million).[6][7]

References

  1. ↑ "Hallazgos en el túnel de La Línea" (in Spanish). Portal de Información Minera Colombiana. 28 October 2008. Archived from the original on 13 July 2011. Retrieved 1 December 2008.
  2. ↑ "Whittier Access Tunnel > Accomplishments". Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities. 5 September 2020. Archived from the original on 5 September 2020. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
  3. ↑ "Túnel Piloto La Línea o Túnel del Segundo Centenario" (in Spanish). ConConcreto. Archived from the original on 11 September 2008. Retrieved 1 December 2008.
  4. ↑ "The World's longest Tunnel Page: Tunnels in Colombia". Retrieved 1 December 2008.
  5. ↑ "Tendering for Colombia tunnel project". World Highways.[permanent dead link]
  6. ↑ Tiempo, Casa Editorial El (September 4, 2020). "Túnel de La Línea y el 'top 10' de megaobras más grandes de Colombia". El Tiempo.
  7. ↑ "Colombia opens South America's longest road tunnel". Reuters. September 5, 2020 – via www.reuters.com.