On the afternoon of Friday 27 June 2025, the new bore of the Tenda road tunnel between Italy and France was officially inaugurated. The following day, the tunnel will reopen to traffic after nearly five years of closure. Yet, in this early phase, access will be heavily restricted. Only vehicles with a gross weight of up to 3.5 tonnes will be allowed through. This limitation has been introduced as part of a pilot opening phase, designed in accordance with current safety conditions and intended primarily to meet the mobility needs of local residents, cross-border workers and local businesses.
The decision to allow only light vehicles is based on recommendations made by the French Safety Committee, which in December 2024 pointed out that the minimum mandatory conditions required for safe tunnel operation had not yet been fully met. These minimum safety conditions include the lighting of the traffic area, fire detection systems, smoke extraction systems and emergency service communication infrastructure. Exceptions are foreseen for emergency and fire vehicles, public transport services, urban waste collection and police vehicles.
The tunnel will open to traffic at 12 noon on Saturday 28 June and will close again at 9 pm the following day. This timetable was decided by the intergovernmental committee just hours before the ribbon-cutting ceremony, contradicting earlier reports suggesting that circulation would begin at 6 am. The reason for the delay is the need to carry out further civil protection drills. In this initial phase, traffic will move in alternating directions, regulated by traffic lights allowing passage every thirty minutes and within limited time frames. Speed limits will also apply, with a maximum of 70 km/h inside the tunnel and 50 km/h on the approach bends.
Until mid-July 2025, the tunnel will be open on weekdays from 6 am to 9 am, from 12.30 pm to 2.30 pm, and from 6 pm to 10 pm. On weekends, it will be open continuously from 6 am to 9 pm. These hours enable construction firms to continue overnight works while still allowing regular travel for local users. On high-traffic days, such as Sunday afternoons, the emptying intervals may be adjusted to better manage intense cross-border flows. On 16 or 17 July, Italian authorities will meet with their French counterparts to assess whether to extend the opening hours from 6 am to 9 pm throughout the summer starting on 18 July.
