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In the late 1950s, REEL played a decisive role in one of Europe’s most ambitious infrastructure projects: the Mont-Blanc road tunnel. Its custom-built Jumbo machine made history on the French side.
Jumbo: A Giant of Engineering
Commissioned by BORIE SA and engineered by REEL in 1959, the Jumbo was a monumental drilling machine. It weighed 75 tonnes, stood 9 meters high, measured 8 meters wide, and stretched 20 meters long. It carried 16 air-powered drills and could accommodate 25 workers onboard.
At each stop, the Jumbo drilled 140 holes, which were then filled with explosives. Debris was cleared by rail wagons. Thanks to this system, the French tunnel crew advanced an average of 8 meters per day.
With Jumbo, the French Take the Lead
Thanks to the Jumbo’s efficiency, the French team completed their side of the tunnel before the Italians, achieving full breakthrough on August 14, 1962.
On July 16, 1965, the Mont-Blanc Tunnel was officially inaugurated by French President Charles de Gaulle and Italian President Giuseppe Saragat. At the time, the 11.6-kilometer tunnel was the longest road tunnel in Europe, connecting Chamonix with the Aosta Valley and reducing travel by 60 kilometers.
Engineering Meets European Cooperation
Despite political tensions with the European Community in 1965, the tunnel stood as a strong symbol of Franco-Italian cooperation and post-war reconciliation.
The project had been decades in the making. In 1949, France and Italy signed a bilateral agreement, ratified in 1954 and 1957. Work finally began in 1959 on both sides of the mountain.
A Glimpse of History in the Press
On July 19, 1965, the tunnel opened to the public. Le Figaro journalist Pierre Macaigne wrote a witty portrait of the first motorist to cross the Mont-Blanc Tunnel, capturing the spirit of a Europe turned toward peace, innovation, and progress.
The REEL Jumbo didn’t just drill through rock—it carved a path into European infrastructure history. Its success confirmed REEL’s role as a leader in mechanical systems for complex environments, long before the term “industry of the future” was coined.
