Tunnel of Havana
El Túnel de la Bahía
Entrance to tunnel from East Havana
General information
TypeTunnel
Architectural styleModern
Town or city Havana
CountryCuba Cuba
Coordinates23°09′03″N 82°21′17″W / 23.150708°N 82.354717°W / 23.150708; -82.354717
Construction started1957
OpenedMay 31, 1958
CostUS$28.5 million
OwnerCuban government (contested)[lower-alpha 1][2][3]
Technical details
Structural systemImmersed tube tunnel
MaterialReinforced concrete
Design and construction
DeveloperCompania de Fomento del Túnel de la Habana, S.A.
EngineerJosé Menéndez Menéndez
Main contractorGrands Travaux de Marseille

Havana Tunnel is a route under the Havana Bay, built by the French company Societé de Grand Travaux de Marseille between 1957-58.[4][5] The president of the Republic Fulgencio Batista planned to expand the city to Habana del Este with a new suburb, and a new connection between Havana Vieja and the east side across Havana Bay was required.

Entrance to Havana Bay tunnel under construction, Havana, Cuba

The tunnel extends from the Paseo de Prado, is 733 m long and 12 m below ground level. It takes a driver 45 seconds traveling at a speed of 60 km/h to traverse the tunnel. In the 1970s the new suburb of Alamar in East Havana was built with the aid of the former Soviet Union. The new suburb was composed of Soviet-style concrete buildings, with no city center or character.

Tunnel entrance from East Havana

See also

Notes

  1. This theft of private property led the U.S. into severing diplomatic relations in 1961 and installing the trade embargo and various sanctions against Cuba. "Thousands of Americans and Cuban citizens suffered humiliation and financial distresses of having their private property stolen from them, some of them at gunpoint. Today there has been no justice for that their claims."[1]

References

  1. "HEARING BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE of the COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ONE HUNDRED FOURTEENTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION". Retrieved 2020-02-25.
  2. "Trump Administration Authorizes Lawsuits Against Companies That Deal in Property Confiscated by the Cuban Government and Tightens Other Sanctions Against Cuba". Retrieved 2022-05-12.
  3. "US Allows Lawsuits Relating to "Trafficking" in Confiscated Property in Cuba". Retrieved 2022-05-12.
  4. "Havana Tunnel". Retrieved 2020-01-10.
  5. "Havana's Tunnel". Retrieved 2020-01-10.
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