Las Raíces Tunnel

The Las Raíces tunnel links Malalcahuello (Curacautín) with Lonquimay on route CH-181. It is 4,528 meters long, 4.2 wide and 5.6 high, at 1,010 meters above sea level. It was built between 1930 and 1940 for a railway to Argentina that was never completed, and it was the longest railway tunnel in the Americas (source: Araucanía Andina).

History

• Studies began in 1911 and the final plans date from 1929 (source: Araucanía Andina).
• During construction, an avalanche trapped 42 workers for more than 90 hours, an episode recorded by historian Héctor Alarcón Carrasco in «Rieles fronterizos, ramal Púa-Lonquimay» (2011) (same source).
• Today it is for road traffic only: it was refurbished in 2005, paved and lit (same source).

Getting there

From Curacautín on route CH-181 towards Lonquimay, through Malalcahuello (source: Araucanía Andina).

Before you go

There are traffic lights at the entrances and you may have to wait. Large trucks use an alternative gravel route (source: Araucanía Andina).