The French government has exceptionally authorized heavy goods vehicles to circulate this weekend between the France and Italy, according to a decree published in the official journal on Saturday, to relieve congestion in the Mont Blanc tunnel, saturated after the landslide in Savoie that blocked an alternative route.
Due to the "highly disruptive effects" of the landslide that occurred on 27 August in the Maurienne valley for heavy goods vehicle traffic between France and Italy, the text lifts on 2 and 3 September the weekend traffic ban on "goods vehicles over 7.5 tonnes". The authorisation is valid for any transport in both directions between France and Italy.
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An "important wait" at the Mont-Blanc tunnel
A landslide of 10,000 m3 of rocks led Sunday to the closure of the RD 1006, the A43 motorway and the railway, isolating several municipalities. The Fréjus tunnel, which serves the Maurienne valley, has been closed to vehicles over 3.5 tonnes, transferring heavy goods vehicle traffic to the Mont-Blanc tunnel. The management of the Fréjus tunnel indicated that this exceptional authorization was decided "to allow the decongestion" of access to the Mont Blanc tunnel.
On its website, the operator ATMB announces that "the wait is important at the entrance of the Mont Blanc tunnel to reach the France and Italy" because of the "strong summer traffic and the closure of the Fréjus tunnel for heavy goods vehicles". On Thursday, Transport Minister Clément Beaune hoped to restore road traffic on the A43 between the France and Italy within eight days, which should allow the Fréjus tunnel to be reopened to vehicles over 3.5 tons.
Maintenance work on the Mont Blanc tunnel, initially scheduled from Monday 4 September, has been postponed. Rail traffic on the Chambéry-Turin line will not resume before "at least two months", said Clément Beaune after a trip to the Maurienne Valley, a major axis between France and Italy.