Maurice-Lemaire tunnel

The tunnel Maurice-Lemaire , commonly called tunnel of Sainte-Marie , length of 6 872 m, make it possible to cross the massive Vosgean. It is longest road Tunnel located completely on the French territory, but it was initially bored for the Railroad. It owes its current name with Maurice Lemaire, former managing director of the SNCF, appointed of the Vosges of 1951 to 1978 and several times minister under IVe République, which has work for its modernization.

The railway tunnel

The first projects go back to 1866, shortly after the arrival of the railroad in the high Vosgean valleys, but the war of 1870 then the annexation of the Alsace-Lorraine prevented any evolution.

Charles Regnauld, sub-manager of the Railroads of Alsace-Lorraine, carried out the plans and directed work of the railway tunnel.

The tunnel was opened with the rail traffic the August 8th 1937 to allow the connection between the stations of Lesseux - Frapelle, in the the Vosges, and of Holy-Marie-with-Mines, in the Haut-Rhin. Its Vosgean entry is located on the territory of the commune of Lusse. Although the rail link concerned was envisaged with single track, the tunnel was bored with the gauge " double voie" , which was frequently the case in the works big length to improve ventilation of it. This characteristic will be moreover extrèmement useful for the later transformation of the work into road tunnel.

Inaugurated in great ceremony by the president of the Republic Albert Lebrun, it gave passage to the shoed connection Nancy - Saint-Dié - Sélestat - Colmar - Freiburg-in-Brisgau.

The railway line was closed the June 2nd 1973 and the tunnel resold with the territorial collectivities, making it possible the SNCF to carry out a good financial transaction.

The road tunnel

The Trunk road 59 being often not very practicable in winter with the passage of the collar of Holy-Marie-with-Mines (772 m), and under the joint pressure of the Parisian services of the Equipment and the general advice of the Vosges chaired by Maurice Lemaire, a Survey firm of the tunnel of Holy-Marie-with-Mines was created in 1966, for the road exploitation of the work. It evolved/moved in Société of mixed economy in 1971, in order to be able to proceed to the transformations necessary, according to a formula approved in Council of State the April 23rd 1973. It opened with the road traffic the February 7th 1976. The road exploitation is conceded until December 31st, 2022.

With an average annual traffic of 3 400 vehicles per day, including 40% of heavy trucks, this tunnel is a major economic actor for the transvosgiens exchanges. The barks, the hydrocarbons and other dangerous matters there are prohibited and pass by the collars.

The catastrophe of Tunnel of Mont Blanc resulted in re-examining safety. Initially, the heavy trucks of 3,5 tons were prohibited, then all the vehicles starting from April 19th 2004, in order to carry out installations of safety. It is a question of boring a secondary tunnel 6 meters in diameter, which would be used as way of help in addition, of the zones of reversal will be bored regularly in the old tunnel as well as accesses to the way of help. Work undertaken will last until June 2008. The doubling would have cost 300 d'€ million. The international transit was deviated except Vosgean solid mass on the has 4 in north and the has 36 in the south.

See too

Internal bond

List of the tunnels

External bond

Structurae: Tunnel Maurice-Lemaire

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