The Gran Sasso Tunnel is part of the A24 Motorway

Autostrada A24 (Italy)

The Autostrada A24, or Autostrada dei Parchi , is a motorway connecting Rome to the Adriatic Sea. Commencing at the Grande Raccordo Anulare , the A24 runs broadly north-east past L'Aquila and through a 10km tunnel under the Gran Sasso before reaching Teramo.First planned in 1973 to connect Lazio...

 that links Rome and the Adriatic Sea

Adriatic Sea

The Adriatic Sea is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan peninsula, and the system of the Apennine Mountains from that of the Dinaric Alps and adjacent ranges...

 via L'Aquila

L'Aquila

L'Aquila is a city and comune in central Italy, both the capital city of the Abruzzo region and of the Province of L'Aquila. , it has a population of 73,150 inhabitants, but has a daily presence in the territory of 100,000 people for study, tertiary activities, jobs and tourism...

 and Teramo

Teramo

Teramo is a city and comune in the central Italian region of Abruzzo, the capital of the province of Teramo.The city, from Rome, is situated between the highest mountains of the Apennines and the Adriatic coast...

, through the Apennine Mountains

Apennine mountains

The Apennines or Apennine Mountains or Greek oros but just as often used alone as a noun. The ancient Greeks and Romans typically but not always used "mountain" in the singular to mean one or a range; thus, "the Apennine mountain" refers to the entire chain and is translated "the Apennine...

 via the Gran Sasso

Gran Sasso

Gran Sasso d'Italia is a mountain located in the Abruzzo region of central Italy. The Gran Sasso forms the centerpiece of the Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga National Park which was established in 1993 and holds the highest mountains in continental Italy south of the Alps and is part of the...

 in Abruzzo.

There are two tunnels, each with two lanes for each direction, 10,176 meters long, that also host the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso

Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso

Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso is a particle physics laboratory of the INFN, situated near the Gran Sasso mountain in Italy, between the towns of L'Aquila and Teramo, about 120 km from Rome. In addition to a surface portion of the laboratory, there are extensive underground facilities...

. Construction started on November 14, 1968. The eastbound tunnel (to Teramo) opened the December 1, 1984; while the westbound tunnel (to L'Aquila) opened in 1995.

It is the third longest road tunnel in Italy, after the Fréjus

Fréjus Road Tunnel

The Fréjus Road Tunnel is a tunnel that connects France and Italy. It runs under Col du Fréjus in the Cottian Alps between Modane in France and Bardonecchia in Italy...

 and Monte Bianco

Mont Blanc Tunnel

The Mont Blanc Tunnel is a road tunnel in the Alps under the Mont Blanc mountain, linking Chamonix, Haute-Savoie, France , and Courmayeur, Aosta Valley, Italy . It is one of the major trans-Alpine transport routes, particularly for Italy, which relies on the tunnel for transporting as much as...

tunnels, and the longest road tunnel entirely on Italian territory.