Top 10 Longest Road Tunnels in the World

The road tunnels ranked here use official length of a named public tunnel, and rail tunnels or motorway networks are labelled rather than mixed in. Rank is by official length of a single named operating public road tunnel, and rail tunnels or combined motorway networks are labelled rather than mixed into the same official product ^[1][2][3]. The Lærdal Tunnel in Norway is first. The Norwegian Public Roads Administration gives its official length as 24,509 metres, or 24.5 kilometres, and Guinness World Records gives it the title of longest road tunnel ^[1][2]. An official upgrade of the tunnel is due to start in the autumn of 2026, with an expected reopening in 2031; that works programme does not change the official length used here, and it does not transfer the longest-road-tunnel title to another field ^[1]. The Tianshan Shengli Tunnel in Xinjiang is second. Official Chinese accounts and Guinness World Records give it a length of 22.130 kilometres and the title of longest expressway tunnel; it opened to traffic on 26 December 2025, with trial operations from 1 January 2026 ^[3][4]. That expressway title is a different official class from the overall road-tunnel title still held by Lærdal.

Later names remain in the same official public-road class. The Yamate Tunnel in Tokyo is 18.20 kilometres, a single named urban motorway tunnel ^[5]. The Zhongnanshan Tunnel in Shaanxi is 18.04 kilometres ^[5]. The Gotthard Road Tunnel in Switzerland is 16.918 kilometres and must not be confused with the much longer Gotthard Base Tunnel, which is a rail tunnel ^[5]. The Tiantaishan Tunnel in Shaanxi is 15.56 kilometres ^[5]. Daliangshan No. 1 Tunnel in Sichuan is 15.366 kilometres and has been open to public traffic with the Leshan-Xichang expressway from 1 January 2026 ^[5][6]. The Muzhailing Tunnel in Gansu is 15.226 kilometres ^[5]. The Zigana Tunnel in Turkey is 14.476 kilometres ^[5]. The Ryfylke Tunnel in Norway is 14.459 kilometres and is also the outstanding subsea road tunnel in this ten ^[5][7]. The Ovit Tunnel, at 14.346 kilometres, sits just outside. This article does not copy official crests, flags, or exact portal facades as decorative art.

Key Facts

The ten below are the labelled official public-road leaders: the Lærdal Tunnel, 24,509 metres, the Guinness longest road tunnel; the Tianshan Shengli Tunnel, 22.130 kilometres, the Guinness longest expressway tunnel, in service from late December 2025 and in trial operations from 1 January 2026; the Yamate Tunnel, 18.20 kilometres; the Zhongnanshan Tunnel, 18.04 kilometres; the Gotthard Road Tunnel, 16.918 kilometres, not the Gotthard Base rail tunnel; the Tiantaishan Tunnel, 15.56 kilometres; Daliangshan No. 1 Tunnel, 15.366 kilometres, open to the public from 1 January 2026; the Muzhailing Tunnel, 15.226 kilometres; the Zigana Tunnel, 14.476 kilometres; and the Ryfylke Tunnel, 14.459 kilometres ^{[1][2][3][4][5][6][7]}. Rank 1 is the outstanding official overall road-tunnel length, which is also the only tunnel in the ten given a Guinness title as the longest road tunnel.

WestConnex in Sydney is a 33-kilometre motorway network of which about 22 kilometres are underground, including a 7.5-kilometre M4-M8 link; that combined underground length is not used here as a silent second place, because it is a network of named tunnels, not one single official bore ^[8]. The Jinpingshan Tunnel, 17.54 kilometres, was built as a hydropower access road between the Jinping I and Jinping II stations and is restricted rather than a public highway, so it is labelled and left out of this public ten ^[5]. The table is the official spine: a single named public road tunnel first, rail and network measures labelled, and no closed or restricted substitution smuggled in as an official cell.

Longest Road Tunnels at a Glance

1. Lærdal Tunnel

The Lærdal Tunnel, on the E16 between Lærdalsøyri and Aurlandsvangen, is first. The Norwegian Public Roads Administration gives its official length as 24,509 metres, and Guinness World Records gives it the title of longest road tunnel, at 24.5 kilometres, after the ceremonial opening on 27 November 2000 ^[1][2]. The figure is an official single named public road tunnel, not a rail tunnel, and not a silent combination with the nearby Gudvangen Tunnel. An official upgrade to meet current safety requirements is due to start in the autumn of 2026, with an expected opening in 2031; that programme is labelled here and does not change the official length, and it does not move the longest-road-tunnel title to the later cells ^[1].

It is first as the outstanding official overall road-tunnel length, a labelled Guinness fact, and the documentary centre of this ten ^[1][2]. A later official resurvey, or a later completed public road tunnel that is longer, will belong in a revision of the cell.

The Norwegian Public Roads Administration and Guinness World Records are the sources ^[1][2].

2. Tianshan Shengli Tunnel

The Tianshan Shengli Tunnel, on the G0711 Urumqi-Yuli Expressway, is second. Official Chinese accounts and Guinness World Records give it a length of 22.130 kilometres and the title of longest expressway tunnel ^[3][4]. Official reports describe an opening to traffic on 26 December 2025 and trial operations from 00:00 on 1 January 2026 ^[4]. The expressway title is a different official class from the overall road-tunnel title still held by Lærdal, and this article records both titles rather than treating the later expressway record as a silent replacement for first place ^[1][3]. The figure is a single named public expressway tunnel, not a combined length of the whole 324.7-kilometre Urumqi-Yuli Expressway.

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It is second as the outstanding official expressway-tunnel length, a labelled late-2025 opening fact, and a necessary counterpart to the Yamate Tunnel ^[3][4]. A later official resurvey will belong in a revision of the cell.

Official Chinese transport accounts and Guinness World Records are the sources ^[3][4].

3. Yamate Tunnel

The Yamate Tunnel in Tokyo, on the Shuto Expressway C2, is 18.20 kilometres ^[5]. The figure is a single named urban motorway tunnel, not a combined length of every Tokyo expressway tunnel, and not a silent substitute for a mountain tunnel of the same official class. This article records the official 18.20-kilometre figure. It stands well below the two official 22-to-24-kilometre leaders and just above the Zhongnanshan Tunnel.

It is third as the outstanding official 18.20-kilometre urban motorway tunnel, a labelled fact, and a necessary counterpart to the Zhongnanshan Tunnel ^[5]. A later official resurvey will belong in a revision of the cell.

Official and standard accounts of the Yamate Tunnel are the source ^[5].

4. Zhongnanshan Tunnel

The Zhongnanshan Tunnel, on the G65 Baotou-Maoming Expressway in Shaanxi, is 18.04 kilometres ^[5]. The figure is an official public expressway tunnel, not a rail tunnel under the Qinling range, and not a silent combination with later Shaanxi tunnels in this ten. This article records the official 18.04-kilometre figure. For several years after its 2007 opening it was widely described as the longest road tunnel in China; later official Chinese tunnels have since passed it, and those later lengths are recorded in their own cells rather than written back into this one.

It is fourth as the outstanding official 18.04-kilometre public expressway tunnel, a labelled fact, and a necessary counterpart to the Gotthard Road Tunnel ^[5]. A later official resurvey will belong in a revision of the cell.

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Official and standard accounts of the Zhongnanshan Tunnel are the source ^[5].

5. Gotthard Road Tunnel

The Gotthard Road Tunnel, on the A2 between Uri and Ticino, is 16.918 kilometres ^[5]. The figure is an official public road tunnel opened in 1980, not the Gotthard Base Tunnel, a rail tunnel of 57 kilometres that is a different official class and is excluded from this ten. This article records the official 16.918-kilometre road length and keeps the rail tunnel out of the ranking. The road tunnel remains a single-tube Alpine crossing with official traffic restrictions at peak times; those operating rules do not change the official length.

It is fifth as the outstanding official 16.918-kilometre Alpine road tunnel, a labelled fact, and a necessary counterpart to the Tiantaishan Tunnel ^[5]. A later official resurvey, or a later official second road tube if one is completed and separately measured, will belong in a revision of the cell.

Official and standard accounts of the Gotthard Road Tunnel are the source ^[5].

6. Tiantaishan Tunnel

The Tiantaishan Tunnel, on the G85 Yinchuan-Kunming Expressway in Shaanxi, is 15.56 kilometres ^[5]. The figure is an official public expressway tunnel, not a silent combination with the Zhongnanshan Tunnel, and not a rail tunnel. This article records the official 15.56-kilometre figure. It stands just above Daliangshan No. 1 Tunnel and just below the Gotthard Road Tunnel.

It is sixth as the outstanding official 15.56-kilometre public expressway tunnel, a labelled fact, and a necessary counterpart to Daliangshan No. 1 Tunnel ^[5]. A later official resurvey will belong in a revision of the cell.

Official and standard accounts of the Tiantaishan Tunnel are the source ^[5].

7. Daliangshan No. 1 Tunnel

Daliangshan No. 1 Tunnel, on the Leshan-Xichang expressway in Sichuan, is 15.366 kilometres ^[5][6]. Official accounts describe the Mabian-Zhaojue section of that expressway as opening at 24:00 on 31 December 2025, with public traffic from 1 January 2026, so the tunnel belongs in a 2026 operating list rather than in a still-unopened class ^[6]. The figure is a single named public expressway tunnel, not a combined length of Daliangshan No. 1 and No. 2, and not a restricted works road. This article records the official 15.366-kilometre figure and the official public opening.

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It is seventh as the outstanding official 15.366-kilometre public expressway tunnel, a labelled 1 January 2026 opening fact, and a necessary counterpart to the Muzhailing Tunnel ^[5][6]. A later official resurvey will belong in a revision of the cell.

Official Sichuan expressway accounts of the tunnel and of the 1 January 2026 public opening are the sources ^[5][6].

8. Muzhailing Tunnel

The Muzhailing Tunnel, on the G75 Lanzhou-Haikou Expressway in Gansu, is 15.226 kilometres ^[5]. The figure is an official public expressway tunnel opened in 2024, not a rail tunnel, and not a silent combination with later Gansu tunnels. This article records the official 15.226-kilometre figure. It stands just below Daliangshan No. 1 Tunnel and just above the Zigana Tunnel.

It is eighth as the outstanding official 15.226-kilometre public expressway tunnel, a labelled fact, and a necessary counterpart to the Zigana Tunnel ^[5]. A later official resurvey will belong in a revision of the cell.

Official and standard accounts of the Muzhailing Tunnel are the source ^[5].

9. Zigana Tunnel

The Zigana Tunnel, on the D.885 and E97 between Maçka and Torul in Turkey, is 14.476 kilometres ^[5]. The figure is an official public highway tunnel opened in 2023, not a rail tunnel under the same pass, and not a silent combination with the Ovit Tunnel. This article records the official 14.476-kilometre figure. It stands just above the Ryfylke Tunnel, a labelled official gap of a few dozen metres rather than a sharp class change.

It is ninth as the outstanding official 14.476-kilometre public highway tunnel, a labelled fact, and a necessary counterpart to the Ryfylke Tunnel ^[5]. A later official resurvey will belong in a revision of the cell.

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Official and standard accounts of the Zigana Tunnel are the source ^[5].

10. Ryfylke Tunnel

The Ryfylke Tunnel, on Norwegian County Road 13, is 14.459 kilometres ^[5][7]. The Norwegian Public Roads Administration has also described it as the longest and deepest subsea road tunnel, at 14.4 kilometres and 292 metres below sea level at its deepest point, after it opened on 30 December 2019 ^[7]. That subsea title is a different official class from the overall road-tunnel ranking, and this article records both rather than using the subsea title as a silent substitute for first place. The Ovit Tunnel, at 14.346 kilometres, sits just outside this ten ^[5]. This article records the official 14.459-kilometre figure as the last named public road tunnel in the ranking.

It is tenth as the outstanding official 14.459-kilometre public road tunnel, a labelled subsea fact, and a necessary counterpart to the Zigana Tunnel ^[5][7]. A later official revision, or a later completed public road tunnel that belongs above 14.459 kilometres, will belong in a revision of the ten.

Official Norwegian and standard accounts of the Ryfylke Tunnel are the sources ^[5][7].

Conclusion

A 2026 longest-road-tunnels list has to keep the Lærdal Tunnel at the official 24,509-metre overall length, keep the Tianshan Shengli Tunnel at the official 22.130-kilometre expressway length after its late-2025 opening, and refuse to treat a rail tunnel, a restricted hydropower access road, or a combined urban motorway-tunnel network as a silent official cell ^{[1][2][3][4][8]}. The Yamate Tunnel, the Zhongnanshan Tunnel, the Gotthard Road Tunnel, the Tiantaishan Tunnel, Daliangshan No. 1 Tunnel after its 1 January 2026 public opening, the Muzhailing Tunnel, the Zigana Tunnel, and the Ryfylke Tunnel complete a named ten in which official public-road length and status are stated in the open ^[5][6][7]. The useful habit is a single named official length, a labelled public status, and a refusal to mix a network total into a single-tunnel cell.

A later official opening or resurvey will belong in a revision of a cell; it will not change the method. Those labelled official lengths are the spine of the list, and they will still be the spine after a later roads authority has restated a public-tunnel length in a later year.