Down the rabbit hole, or how the Lefortovo tunnel works. Lefortovo tunnel: truth and myths Third transport ring Lefortovo tunnel

The Lefortovo tunnel in Moscow has long been called the “tunnel of death” by motorists and traffic police officers. This part of the capital's Third Transport Ring breaks all records for the number of accidents with casualties.

The idea of constructing the Lefortovo tunnel arose back in 1935. In those days, it was not customary to shelve ambitious plans, but some obstacles constantly arose on the way to the implementation of this particular project. As a result, construction began only in 1959, but 25 years later only the Rusakovskaya and Savelovskaya overpasses, as well as the Avtozavodsky Bridge, were completed - there was no sign of rapid pace here.

Then heated discussions began over the passage of the highway under the Lefortovo estate park, which froze construction for another 13 years. It came to life again only in 1997, and in December 2003 the first cars dived into the dark mouth of the underground road. Since then, according to statistics, at least two or three cars crash here every day.

The ill-fated tunnel, the fifth longest in Europe, is a true engineering marvel. It is equipped with the most modern safety equipment, including fire detection, fire extinguishing, water and smoke removal systems, and exits for emergency evacuation of people.

Everything works automatically and is controlled from a single control panel. Of course, there are also CCTV cameras. It was thanks to round-the-clock filming that it became clear: the numerous car accidents occurring underground are completely inexplicable from a rational point of view.

Take the “dancing” bus, for example. It's as if an invisible monstrous force is throwing him from side to side, forcing him to hit the walls of the tunnel, while other cars try to avoid a collision. The driver can normalize the movement only when leaving the dungeon. The footage is shocking, where the ambulance, for no reason at all, begins to circle and toss on a smooth road surface, as a result of which the patient falls out of the car at full speed.

No matter how many times you watch these recordings posted on the Internet, it remains a mystery why cars suddenly suddenly change direction and crash into concrete walls at speed. But they also recorded flying trucks, “winged” cars, and “Gazelle” ghosts.

Just look at the footage of a truck flying out of the tunnel wall straight towards a heavy truck! What is actually happening in the Lefortovo tunnel, what forces are hostile to humans and why did they organize a manhunt there?

Dark and scary

The drivers who survived the cycle of the “tunnel of death” conscientiously share their impressions and experiences. Most are sure: it’s better not to meddle in Lefortovo, and if possible, then follow a different, albeit longer, but safer route to your destination. Believe it or not, in most cases they consider ghosts to be the culprits of terrible road accidents.

There is a lot of evidence of how, in the middle of an underground road, human figures woven from dense white fog suddenly appear in the light of headlights, forcing drivers to brake sharply or try to go around them. In the confined space of a tunnel, any such maneuver entails loss of control and a collision either with the gloomy arches of the freeway or with other road users. At the same time, motorists say, the road itself becomes slippery like ice or there is a feeling that it completely disappears from under the wheels and you seem to be hanging in a muddy haze without any landmarks.

There are frequent guests in the Lefortovo tunnel and ghost cars. They suddenly appear on the road, usually rushing at high speed. Outwardly, these monsters look quite ordinary, although the seat behind the wheel is often empty. Drivers whose path they block have to dodge, brake and change lanes, which inevitably leads to another tragedy. After all, trying to get out of a difficult situation, they arrange an emergency braking test for those who were driving behind. In general, workers have to change the cladding panels of the tunnel walls every week.

The most curious thing is that the “troop” of ghost cars seems to have a habit of being replenished by new victims of accidents. Thus, Moscow driver Pavel T. once witnessed a terrible accident in the Lefortovo tunnel. Finding himself one of the first near the overturned car, he helped remove the body of a man from the crumpled interior, who died in front of his eyes a few minutes later.

Six months later, while driving through Lefortovo underground, Pavel saw the same blue Opel, which was again driven by the man who died in the accident. He managed to see the fur collar of the driver's jacket, although now it was summer outside, and even the blood flowing down his temple. The shocked man miraculously managed to maintain control. Not remembering himself from fear, he left the disastrous tunnel at breakneck speed, for which he later paid a hefty fine.

No mysticism!

The terrible stories of the Lefortovo tunnel, supported by documentary footage from the video surveillance system, created an unenviable reputation for it, which material scientists, traffic police officers, as well as the maintenance personnel of the facility could not help but oppose.

The human psyche is to blame for everything, psychologists categorically say. Research among traffic participants in the Lefortovo tunnel (as well as in other underground highways of similar length) showed that many are afraid to slow down when driving inside. And then they exceed the speed in order to quickly get through a confined space. Hence the accidents. That is, the problem is hidden in more or less obvious symptoms of claustrophobia.

Another person accused of mass clouding the minds of drivers in the tunnel is... music. Upon entry, the audio system “explodes” with a deafening roar of interference. Drivers are distracted by the radio, while the situation on the highway requires their increased attention and quick response. One wrong move and the car is thrown to the side and turned against the flow. At the same time, the following cars have nowhere to turn, because the width of the tunnel is only 14 meters.

Gormost specialists are also prosaic. The cause of all misfortunes, in their opinion, is the lack of discipline of drivers who exceed the speed limit, as well as a tendency to recklessness combined with inattention. And this is in conditions when the average traffic intensity in the tunnel is about four thousand cars per hour, and during rush hours this value increases to seven to eight thousand.

According to the rules, the speed inside the Lefortovo tunnel should not exceed 60 km/h. Note that the total length of the underground route is 2.2 kilometers, which means that the average time for a car to travel this distance is 2–2.5 minutes. It would seem, why not be vigilant? However, according to dispatchers of the longest tunnel in Moscow, about twenty thousand violations of traffic rules are recorded here every day!

And yet, are all these theories and statistics able to refute the notoriety of the damned tunnel? Quite the opposite!

Funnel of fear

Most people driving through a tunnel experience a strong feeling of discomfort. Some complain of attacks of headache and nausea, others - of a sudden feeling of anxiety, danger, and inexplicable panic. This forces those who are driving to unconsciously press on the gas in order to quickly leave the cursed zone.

At such moments, the thought of a cemetery that is located not far from an underground highway often arises, and the slightest shadows with light reflections on the windshield deprive the remnants of self-control.

And what could be more dangerous when a person is driving a speeding car? So what is it? Just the eternal fear of death or a warning from the other world, the boundaries of which we have invaded by constructing the Lefortovo tunnel at a depth of 30 meters underground?

Psychics and parapsychologists unanimously claim that the highway is laid in a zone of anomalous activity, characteristic of places popularly called lost. Enthusiasts' devices detect strong magnetic disturbances here, and even real storms of destructive energies. If stories about bony hands hitting the side windows and black fogs obscuring the view can be attributed to a wild imagination, then what about the fact that at night the brakes often inexplicably fail here and the engines stall?

Drivers forced to stop find themselves in a concrete trap, thoroughly saturated with fear. And only the next car, whether it passes by or stops to provide assistance, “pulls” the poor fellows out of unknown trouble.

Another interesting phenomenon of the Lefortovo tunnel indicates that its ghosts keep up with the times. While rushing inside the underground highway, drivers and passengers often receive “blank” SMS from unknown numbers. If you call them back later, it turns out that the strange subscriber is “not registered on the network.” Perhaps, however, “he” is not registered in the networks of our world. But what do we have to do with it?

Reluctant psychic

It is known that the Lefortovo tunnel stands on a fault in the soil and passes under the Yauza River. According to a number of experts, this creates a kind of natural collapse inside the dungeon, generating energy chaos. The consciousness of a person rushing through such an anomaly turns out to be disoriented. At the physiological level, this manifests itself in the form of dizziness and inexplicable fear.

“When we got to about the middle of the tunnel,” Muscovite Anna T. wrote in one of her blogs, “my ears were very blocked, everything swam, the walls began to press. It seemed that the tunnel had narrowed, and a panicky fear came over me, as if something terrible was about to happen. When we left the tunnel, literally within a minute the terrible state dissipated.”

Here, I must admit, the girl was lucky. Could be worse. In conditions of destabilization of brain functions, any little thing is enough for the psyche to enter an altered state and begin to perceive signals with a shift in time and space.

The mentioned “trifle” could well be, for example, a tunnel lighting system. When entering, peripheral vision reacts to the flickering of light points on the dark wall cladding (in most other tunnels the background is light), the rapid alternation of black and light stripes is reflected on the hood and windshield, glare dances on the metal parts of the dashboard. Further, everything depends on the individual sensitivity of people.

You can fall into a hypnotic trance with a side “peeping” into the nearest pockets of time: seeing long-destroyed cars with dead people at the wheel, ordinary cars driving in the same place yesterday or a week ago, etc. Or find yourself between parallel worlds, existing simultaneously in two or more realities for several moments.

Then one wrong move and the car crashes into the concrete wall of the tunnel at full speed. Anything is possible. The mystery of the Lefortovo tunnel has not yet been solved. And experienced motorists prefer to take a bypass route.

Lefortovo tunnel In Moscow, motorists and traffic police officers have long called it the “tunnel of death.” This part of the capital's Third Transport Ring breaks all records for the number of accidents with casualties.

The idea of constructing the Lefortovo tunnel arose back in 1935. In those days, it was not customary to shelve ambitious plans, but some obstacles constantly arose in the implementation of this particular project. As a result, construction began only in 1959, but 25 years later only the Rusakovskaya and Savelovskaya overpasses, as well as the Avtozavodsky Bridge, were completed - there was no sign of rapid progress here.

Chronicle of disasters

Dark and scary

No mysticism!

According to the rules, the speed inside the Lefortovo tunnel should not exceed 60 km/h. Note that the total length of the underground route is 2.2 kilometers, which means that the average time for a car to travel this distance is 2-2.5 minutes. It would seem, why not be vigilant? However, according to dispatchers of the longest tunnel in Moscow, about twenty thousand violations of traffic rules are recorded here every day!

And yet, are all these theories and statistics able to refute the notoriety of the damned tunnel? Quite the opposite!

Funnel of fear

Reluctant psychic

“When we reached approximately the middle of the tunnel,” Muscovite Anna T. wrote in one of her blogs, “my ears were very blocked, everything swam, the walls began to press. It seemed that the tunnel had narrowed, and a panicky fear came over me, as if something terrible was about to happen. When we left the tunnel, literally within a minute the terrible state dissipated.”

The Lefortovo Tunnel of Death (two or three cars crash here every day, and workers change the facing panels every week) is a car tunnel in the north-east of Moscow. It is part of the Third Transport Ring (TTK). At about 3.2 km long, it is the fifth longest urban tunnel in Europe. The tunnel passes under the Yauza River and Lefortovo Park. The tunnel has three lanes in the north direction (outer side of the TTK) and four in the south (inner side of the TTK) direction, the width of one lane is 3.5 m. The leftmost lane is 32 cm smaller than the others. The average traffic intensity in the tunnel is 3. 8 thousand cars per hour, during peak hours this value increases to 7-8 thousand cars per hour.

The tunnel is equipped with the most modern systems: ventilation, lighting, water removal, measuring gas levels, a fire safety system and a smoke removal system, video surveillance and communication systems. Utilities are managed at the central control center.

“The human psyche is to blame for everything,” psychologists say. “The experience of organizing traffic in the Lefortovo Tunnel has shown that many drivers are afraid to slow down when entering the tunnel. But inside they, on the contrary, exceed the speed limit in order to quickly get through a confined space. Hence the accidents!”

Gormost specialists do not agree with the scientists. They are confident that the cause of accidents in the tunnel lies not in the depths of the psyche, but in the banal indiscipline of drivers. Dispatchers monitor what is happening in all three Lefortovo tunnels around the clock. The officers on duty are accustomed to the fact that the instruments show constant speeding at night. The absolute record so far is 236 km/h.

Such reckless drivers often become the culprits of road accidents. In the capital's tunnels, accidents are recorded almost every day. As a result, not only the driver and his car, but also the tunnel itself are seriously damaged. Repairs to the facing part of the structure are carried out only at night. The installers admit that the work is not difficult, but very dangerous.

The tunnel administration is accused of design flaws. Like, cars crash into the sidewalk near the wall. And if there was a bump stop in front of them, the blow would have been tangential. But there is no bump stop, and upon impact the car literally sticks to the concrete.

This sidewalk is required for personnel and evacuation purposes. It cannot be higher than the required 18 cm. Otherwise, it will be impossible to open the doors of a car involved in an accident.

In one of the videos, the car begins to change lanes, the other does not have time to brake - and both go to the right. There is no bump stop, and in a frontal impact the car literally crashes into the concrete. People don't survive such accidents.

Another design solution of the tunnel also increases the risk of accidents - during construction, the left lane was narrowed.

The passing lane is 3 meters 25 cm, while the two right lanes are 3 meters 50 cm each. This is due to the fact that the diameter of the tunnel is only 14 meters. Therefore, all drivers driving in the leftmost lane should be especially careful.

The Lefortovo tunnel in Belokamennaya has long been referred to by motorists, and with them by traffic police officers, as the “tunnel of death.” This section of Moscow's Third Transport Ring holds the top spot in terms of the number of accidents with mandatory casualties.

The idea of the building

The idea of constructing a tunnel arose back in 1935. During this historical period, ambitious projects were not shelved, but unforeseen difficulties and obstacles always arose in the way of its planning and subsequent implementation. As a result, construction of the Lefortovo tunnel began 24 years later, in 1959. A quarter of a century later, the Savelovskaya and Rusakovskaya overpasses were built, and the Avtozavodsky Bridge was completed almost simultaneously - it’s impossible to call it a shock construction project. Afterwards, due to heated discussions and indignation of certain sections of the population that arose due to the need to build a highway under the park of the Lefortovo estate, construction was frozen for another 13 years. Construction received a second wind only in 1997, and in the first month of winter 2003, the first cars rushed into the gaping maw of the underground highway. Since then, according to official statistics, two or three cars crash there every day. Although the length of the Lefortovo tunnel is only 3.2 km, and its utilities are controlled by a central control center, the location is considered unfavorable and even deadly. Many psychics and magicians talk about a geopathogenic zone in the tunnel.

The ill-fated Lefortovo Tunnel is the fifth longest in Europe and a true engineering marvel. In addition to standard safety equipment, including fire extinguishing systems, fire detection, smoke and water removal, emergency evacuation, along its entire length it is equipped with video surveillance cameras that operate continuously in automatic mode. Thanks to their round-the-clock video recording, it becomes clear that most car accidents that occur underground are inexplicable from the point of view of logic and rationalism. A striking example is the video of a “dancing” bus. It seems that an invisible powerful force, which the Lefortovo tunnel hides, throws it like a toy from side to side, forcing it to hit the walls, at the same time other cars are frightened and often in vain trying to avoid a collision. But on the way out of the unlucky dungeon, the long-suffering driver miraculously manages to take control of the enraged bus.

Shocking footage

The Lefortovo Tunnel of Death is shocking with footage of an ambulance. The car is tossed and spun around by the same invisible force on the dry and smooth surface of the highway so much so that the unfortunate patient is thrown out of it at speed. Traffic police experts, having investigated such cases, cannot establish the reason why cars suddenly suddenly change their trajectory, which leads to tragedies. The video simply captures “gazelles” - ghosts, passenger cars that suddenly became “winged”, and “dancing” trucks. Just look at the video of a truck suddenly hitting the tunnel wall and being thrown into the ram of a multi-ton truck. What hostile forces are hidden in underground Moscow? Did the Lefortovo Tunnel stage a hunt for motorists who visited it?

Scary and dark

Motorists who survived disasters in the “tunnel of death” cycle are reluctant to share their impressions. But most of them are sure that if there is an alternative option (albeit longer, but safer), it is better not to go to Lefortovo. Every second of them considers the main cause of the accident to be ghosts and ghosts. Many testimonies have been recorded from participants in road accidents, who echo as one about the appearance in the middle of an underground highway in the light of headlights of whitish human figures, as if woven from dense fog. This phenomenon encouraged drivers to make rash maneuvers. But in the limited space of the tunnel, the slightest ill-considered maneuver turned into a loss of control over the car and, as a result, a collision with the oppressive arches of the freeway or other cars. At the same time, the length of the Lefortovo tunnel becomes endless, and the asphalt surface becomes slippery like ice. Some drivers had the feeling that the road was disappearing from under the wheels, and the car was moving in a strange haze without the slightest landmarks.

Guests from the other world

Ghost cars often visit the Lefortovo Tunnel. They, like the phenomena of human figures, appear on the highway, moving at very high speed. Outwardly, they do not differ from ordinary ones, although the driver’s seat is always empty. They definitely deliberately block the traffic of cars driven by living drivers. Those, in turn, trying to avoid a collision, begin to slow down and change lanes, which inevitably leads to another tragedy. The driver, trying to avoid a collision, makes maneuvers that pose a serious test for emergency driving and braking to all those who followed him. As a result, workers change the facing panel walls weekly.

"Squad" of ghost cars

According to the observations of those interested, the “squad” of ghost cars is regularly replenished with new victims of accidents. According to one of the witnesses to the accident, a native Muscovite, who was the first to be next to the overturned car, tried to help the seriously injured driver, six months after the tragedy he saw a blue Opel at the same place in the tunnel. He was controlled by a man who died in his arms. The shocked driver barely managed to regain control of his car, beside himself with horror, he left the black spot at crazy speed.

No mysticism!

The terrible incidents of the Lefortovo tunnel, supported by documentary chronicles, give it an unenviable reputation. Naturally, this was opposed by material scientists, facility maintenance personnel, and Moscow traffic police officers. Scientists categorically assert that the human psyche is to blame for all tragic accidents. Psychologists conducted studies among regular participants in the underground highway. As it turns out, most of them do not slow down when driving inside. Inside, they still increase their speed, trying to quickly cover a considerable section of 3.2 km (the length of the Lefortovo tunnel), subconsciously experiencing the fear of a closed space. It turns out that the whole problem is more or less pronounced symptoms of claustrophobia.

Other experts point to music as the cause of accidents. If the audio system is on when entering a tunnel, it immediately explodes into an annoying roar of interference. Naturally, the driver switches attention and gets distracted. One wrong move and the car is thrown to the side, turning against the flow of traffic. It is extremely difficult for drivers following him to avoid a collision; the width of the structure is only 14 meters.

Traffic police officers say the cause of all misfortunes is the indiscipline of motorists who drive recklessly and exceed the speed limit. After all, dispatchers record more than 20,000 violations of traffic rules every day.

But dry statistics and rational theory cannot refute the bad reputation of the disastrous highway. The Lefortovo Tunnel has been unequivocally and categorically called a bad place by history and people’s rumors.

Place of horror

Most drivers driving through the highway of fear experience an indescribable feeling of discomfort: attacks of nausea, a sharp headache, a feeling of unaccountable fear and anxiety. This encourages the driver to press the gas pedal to the floor.

Magicians, parapsychologists and psychics claim that the tunnel is located in an area of strong anomalous activity, popularly called the lost since ancient times. The devices record magnetic disturbances of destructive energy. They suggest that the driver can easily fall into a kind of hypnotic trance and get lost in time - seeing cars that were involved in accidents long ago with dead people behind the wheel, etc. Or get into parallel worlds for a few moments, existing simultaneously in several realities. And after just one rash movement, and the car gets into an accident. In any case, the mystery of the Lefortovo tunnel remains unsolved, and experienced motorists prefer to choose a detour route.

The Lefortovo Tunnel is a road tunnel in Moscow, which is part of the third transport ring. Its length is about 3.2 km. The tunnel runs under Lefortovo Park and the Yauza River. This place has gained notoriety due to the large number of car accidents that occur here several times a day.

History of the tunnel

The idea of building the Lefortovo tunnel arose back in 1935. At that time, it was customary to postpone all grandiose projects for the future, but sooner or later all ideas were brought to life. Only on the way to constructing the Lefortovo tunnel did obstacles arise one after another. Thus, construction of the tunnel began only 25 years later.

By 1960, work on the construction of the Rusakovskaya and Savelovskaya overpasses, as well as the construction of the Avtozavodsky bridge, was completed. There was no question of a fast pace of construction. Due to all sorts of disagreements about the passage of the highway under Lefortovo Park, construction was suspended for another 13 years. Work was resumed in 1997, and at the end of 2003 the tunnel began operation.

Car crashes

By a strange coincidence, every day since 2003, car accidents have occurred in the Lefortovo tunnel, claiming human lives. The tunnel is the 5th longest in Europe, it is equipped with the most modern security systems, and is quite well lit, but all this does not save moving cars from collisions.

CCTV cameras are installed in the tunnel, thanks to which it became known that accidents occur without any reason. The car simply begins to throw from side to side, as if some unknown force begins to control it. The loudest and most shocking accidents that occurred in the Lefortovo tunnel can be called:

"Dancing bus", which initially moved as usual. The driver did not make any maneuvers or exceed the speed limit. Suddenly the bus began to be thrown in different directions with unimaginable force. The driver managed to control the car only at the moment when he left the dungeon.
Another shocking accident occurred with an ambulance. The car began to bounce on the smooth road so that the patient fell out of it at full speed.
A few years ago, another unexplained accident occurred in the tunnel. Then a gazelle flew straight out of the concrete wall towards the heavy truck moving through the tunnel.

Surveillance cameras and eyewitnesses confirm that real mysticism is happening in the Lefortovo tunnel. “Ghost gazelles”, “winged cars” and even trucks flying through the air were recorded there.

Haunted Tunnel

All motorists agree that it is better to go around the Lefortovo tunnel. Let the other path be a little longer, but safer. At the same time, ghosts are considered to be the culprits of road accidents that occur in the tunnel. There are facts confirming the presence of strange human figures, ghost cars, and strange creatures in the Lefortovo tunnel. Drivers try to avoid collisions with these objects, mistaking them for real ones, and end up in an accident.

One of the drivers named Pavel, who often drives through the Lefortovo tunnel, told the story that he once witnessed an accident that occurred in the dungeon. Pavel got out of his car to help the victims. When he opened the door of the wrecked car, he saw the driver, who died in front of his eyes a few minutes later. This incident was so ingrained in the man’s consciousness that he could not forget the incident for a long time.

After some time, Pavel again drove his usual route, part of which ran through the ill-fated tunnel. Having driven into the dungeon, he suddenly saw the very car driven by the deceased driver. Pavel even managed to see the blood on his face. The man fell into a stupor, pressed the gas pedal and miraculously managed to leave the tunnel unharmed.

Other motorists admit that, while moving through the Lefortovo Tunnel, they begin to experience a feeling of inexplicable discomfort, manifested by various symptoms:

sudden feeling of anxiety;
inexplicable fear for your life;
dizziness and headache;
nausea.

Everyone, experiencing the above symptoms, tries to leave the anomalous zone as quickly as possible. Perhaps drivers begin to feel fear only because there is a cemetery not far from this place, which evokes thoughts of death.

Another inexplicable fact happening in the tunnel concerns the technical side. Drivers and their passengers, driving through the underground, can receive SMS messages and incoming calls from unknown numbers. Later it turns out that such telephone numbers do not exist at all.

Scientific explanation

Scientists, skeptics and traffic police officers explain what is happening in their own way. They believe that the human psyche is to blame. People, afraid of the darkness and confined spaces, try to leave the tunnel as quickly as possible and exceed the speed limit. As a result, accidents occur. There are other skeptical versions:

When entering a tunnel, the audio systems built into cars experience interference. Drivers are distracted by fixing the problem, when, in turn, driving through the tunnel requires extreme attention from a person. The driver’s awkward movements lead to the car turning against the flow, resulting in an accident.
Prosaic traffic police officers claim that drivers themselves are to blame for accidents because they exceed the speed limit. The permissible speed through the tunnel should not exceed 60 km/h.
Drivers make dangerous maneuvers. The width of the tunnel is only 14 meters. In this case, incorrect actions by the driver provoke accidents; cars hit the walls of the tunnel, knocking down everything in their path.

But these statements are still not enough to refute myths and legends filled with mysticism.

Psychics' opinion

Psychics unanimously claim that the Lefortovo tunnel is located in an anomalous zone. It is there that portals to the other world are opened, from where certain entities appear, causing car accidents. Simply put, the inhabitants of the other world make it known that the people in this place are bothering them.

There is an opinion that the Lefortovo tunnel is located on a fault in the soil under the Yauza River. Experts believe that such plots of land are capable of provoking a certain natural collapse. Once in such a place, a person begins to perceive ordinary things from a different perspective. For example, a person may feel as if the tunnel is narrowing or the ceiling is falling. Naturally, in such a state, drivers simply cannot control the car.

Psychics put forward another version, according to which people, catching flickering lighting with their peripheral vision, find themselves in a kind of cycle. Further, human sensitivity plays a role. Potentially vulnerable individuals may be transported to another reality for a few seconds during the flickering of lights. At the same time, they can see broken cars, phantoms of people and other energy beings. Visions affect the driver’s psyche, which is why he begins to violate traffic rules and may get into an accident.

Whatever version is put forward, experienced drivers prefer to avoid this place. And the secret of the Lefortovo tunnel remains closed to people to this day.