Editing Mont Blanc (section)

=== Tunnel ===
{{Main|Mont_Blanc_Tunnel|l1=Mont Blanc Tunnel}}
[[File:Tunel mont blanc.jpg|thumb|Entrance of the Mont Blanc Tunnel in Italy]]
In 1946, a drilling project was initiated to carve a tunnel through the mountain. The Mont Blanc tunnel would connect [[Chamonix]], France, and [[Courmayeur]], Italy, and become one of the major transalpine transport routes between the two countries. In 1965, the tunnel opened to vehicle traffic with a length of {{convert|11611|m|mi}}.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.atmb.com/atmb/en/tunnel/26/the-mont-blanc-tunnel/the-history-of-the-tunnel.html |title=Timeline of the Mont Blanc Tunnel |website=atmb.com |access-date=23 October 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140104022749/http://www.atmb.com/atmb/en/tunnel/26/the-mont-blanc-tunnel/the-history-of-the-tunnel.html |archive-date=4 January 2014}}</ref>

==== 1999 disaster ====
{{main|Mont Blanc tunnel fire}}

In 1999, a transport truck caught fire in the tunnel beneath the mountain. In total, 39 people were killed when the fire raged out of control. The tunnel was renovated in the aftermath to increase driver safety. Renovations include computerised detection equipment, extra security bays, a parallel escape shaft, and a fire station in the middle of the tunnel. The escape shafts also have clean air flowing through them via vents. Any people in the security bays now have live video contact to communicate with the control centre. A remote site for cargo safety inspection was created on each side: Aosta in Italy and Passy-Le Fayet in France. Here all trucks are inspected before entering the tunnel. These remote sites are also used as [[staging area]]s to control commercial traffic during peak hours. The renovated tunnel reopened three years after the disaster.<ref name="tunneltalk">{{cite web |url=http://www.tunneltalk.com/Mont-Blanc-Tunnel-Sep11-An-historic-review-46-years-of-operation.php |title=Mont Blanc Tunnel |website=www.tunneltalk.com |access-date=23 October 2017 |archive-date=24 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171024101747/https://www.tunneltalk.com/Mont-Blanc-Tunnel-Sep11-An-historic-review-46-years-of-operation.php |url-status=live }}</ref>