Tunnel de l'Étoile

Entrance to the tunnel in 2012.

Height warning.

Truck crash in 2006.

The tunnel de l'Étoile is a road tunnel in Paris. It links the avenue des Champs-Élysées to the avenue de la Grande Armée, passing underneath the place Charles-de-Gaulle and the Arc de Triomphe. It is around 400 metres long and has two one way lanes.

Its entrance has been the site of many road traffic accidents by trucks. In effect the tunnel has a height of 2.4 metres (7 ft 10 in), which is only signalled by a sign hanging above the entrance. Trucks are too high and hit the tunnel roof. No portico can be built on the surface since it would affect the appearance of the Arc de Triomphe and breach the Arc's listing statute. In 2009 an accident occurred there every two weeks.

In March 2015, the tunnel was "temporarily" closed,^[1] as of November 2017 it was still closed.

References[]

• Paris : spectaculaire accident sous le tunnel de l'Étoile, Le Parisien, 10 September 2009
• Enquête sur un scandale de 2m40 : les accidents de camion du tunnel de l’Etoile, citizenside.com, 24 November 2009
• 2m40, blog on accidents at the tunnel entrance

Notes

Coordinates: 48°52′23″N 2°17′52″E / 48.87306°N 2.29778°E / 48.87306; 2.29778