Limone Tunnel Closure Sparks Commuter Concerns and Potential Solutions

The commencement of works to complete the Limone tunnel, announced to start in a couple of months, is already raising concerns among commuters who fear they will have to revert to using the ferry again. N.F. expresses this in a letter: “From what can be inferred, the works will last 270 days, and honestly, the thought of resuming ferry services, in the face of weather setbacks, at significantly different hours from usual, with impossible parking situations: the desire is to stay at home for 9 months.” Furthermore, considering that tourism is important but so are the commuters, “We hope that the relevant authorities will also consider us and perhaps, putting a hand on their heart, switch from total closure to partial opening during certain hours.” To turn this hope into certainty, we will need to wait a few weeks until the second official conference scheduled for the end of September, which will approve the final work plan.

Solutions for commuters

However, the outlook is promising: as early as July, provincial technicians were already contemplating two possible solutions: either the use of an overhead crane allowing the installation of prefabricated structures to complete the tunnel vault while keeping light vehicle transit open (for buses and trucks, total closure would remain), or a limited closure allowing only one lane at a time. The future for commuters doesn’t look entirely bleak…