A car emerges from the 1270 metre long Homer Tunnel. Completed in 1954 it links Milford Sound with Te Anau and Queenstown
The Homer Tunnel is a road tunnel in the Fiordland region of the South Island of New Zealand, opened in 1954. New Zealand State Highway 94 passes through the tunnel, linking Milford Sound to Te Anau and Queenstown, by piercing the Main Divide at the Homer Saddle.[1] It connects between the valley of the Eglinton and Hollyford Rivers to the east and that of the Cleddau to the tunnel is straight and was originally single-lane and gravel-surfaced. The tunnel walls remain unlined granite. The east portal end is at 945 m elevation; the tunnel runs 1270 m at approximately a 1:10 gradient down to the western portal.[2] Until it was sealed and enlarged it was the longest gravel-surfaced tunnel in the world. Although the tunnel is large enough for a bus and a smaller vehicle to pass, meetings involving two coaches or campervans are problematic. This is alleviated by the fact that the traffic is very tidal, towards Milford Sound in the morning and toward Te Anau in the afternoon. The traffic lights operate only during the peak summer season, since the avalanche risk makes it unsafe to stop and queue at the portals in winter and spring.
Size: 5315px × 3536px
Location: Eastern entrance to Homer Tunnel, Highway 94, Fjordland, New Zealand South Island
Photo credit: © Martyn Annetts / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: 94, anau, divide, fjordland, highway, homer, island, link, main, mildford, mountains, road, route, saddle, signs, sound, south, state, te, traffic, transport, tunnel, warning, zealand
