The
Vielha tunnel (
Aranese: ,
Catalan and ) is a
road tunnel in north-west
Catalonia, connecting
Vielha, the capital of the
Aran valley, with the
Alta Ribagorça comarca. It is part of the
N-230 road and consists of 2 parallel tunnels. The older one, named
Alfonso XIII Tunnel in honour of Spanish king
Alfonso XIII, was opened in 1948 and became the longest road tunnel in the world, with a length of 5240 metres, until 1964, when the
Great St Bernard Tunnel was inaugurated. The new tunnel, named
Juan Carlos I Tunnel in honour of Spanish king
Juan Carlos I, is 5230 metres long and was opened in 2007 with 2 lanes in southbound direction and 1 lane in northbound one. The old tunnel is nowadays used as an emergency exit and, since July 2011, also as a lane used by trucks which carry flammable or otherwise dangerous products.