Havana Tunnel

Havana Tunnel is a route under the Havana Bay, built by the French company Societé de Grand Travaux de Marseille between 1957 and 1958.^[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

Tunnel of Havana
El Túnel de la Bahía
Entrance to tunnel from East Havana
General information
Type	Tunnel
Architectural style	Modern
Town or city	Havana
Country	Cuba
Coordinates	23.150708°N 82.354717°W / 23.150708; -82.354717
Construction started	1957
Opened	31 May 1958
Cost	US$28.5 million
Owner	Cuban government (contested)[lower-alpha 1][2][3]
Technical details
Structural system	Immersed tube tunnel
Material	Reinforced concrete
Design and construction
Developer	Compania de Fomento del Túnel de la Habana, S.A.
Engineer	José Menéndez Menéndez
Main contractor	Grands Travaux de Marseille

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

Gallery

• 
  Havana Bay Tunnel entrance from the west
• 
  Havana Bay Tunnel entrance from East Havana
• 
  Construction of entrance to Havana Tunnel

See also

• Cuba portal

• Havana Plan Piloto
• Havana Harbor
• Malecón, Havana
• Habana del Este

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". Archived from the original on 2018-06-27. Retrieved 2020-01-10.

External links

• Havana bay tunnel: an engineering jewel and a symbol of identity of the Cuban capital on YouTube
• Havana Tunnel and Malecon drive by on YouTube
• Construccion del Tunel de la Habana 1953 on YouTube