La Línea (Road Pass) facts for kids
The La Línea Tunnel is a super long road tunnel in Colombia. It connects two cities, Calarcá in the Quindío area and Cajamarca in the Tolima area. This amazing tunnel goes right through the middle of the Andes mountains!
It's the longest road tunnel in all of Latin America and even in the entire Americas!
Contents
Where is the La Línea Tunnel?
The tunnel is located in the central part of the Andes mountains in Colombia. It helps people travel between the cities of Calarcá and Cajamarca.
How Long is the Tunnel?
The La Línea Tunnel is about 8,652 meters (which is over 8.6 kilometers or about 5.3 miles) long!
The entrance on the western side is about 2,420 meters (about 7,940 feet) above sea level. This is about 19 kilometers (12 miles) east of the city of Armenia.
The eastern entrance is a bit higher, at about 2,505 meters (about 8,218 feet) above sea level. This side is about 37.8 kilometers (23.5 miles) west of the city of Ibagué.
Building the Tunnel
Building such a huge tunnel was a massive project! Work on a smaller "pilot tunnel" (a test tunnel) started on September 30, 2004. The two sides of this pilot tunnel finally met in the middle on August 2, 2008.
In September 2007, the Ministry of Transport started looking for companies to build the main tunnel and the roads connected to it. This process is called a "tender," where different companies offer to do the work.
When Did it Open?
After 14 years of hard work, the La Línea Tunnel was finally opened on September 4, 2020. It cost a lot of money to build, around 2.9 trillion Colombian pesos, which is about US$870 million.
See also
In Spanish: Túnel de la Línea para niños
