page_title: Huguenot Tunnel
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Huguenot Tunnel / History
caption_attribution_description: View of new road N1 into Huguenot Toll Tunnel, South Africa
context_page_description: The Huguenot Tunnel is a toll tunnel near Cape Town, South Africa. It extends the N1 national road through the Du Toitskloof mountains that separate Paarl from Worcester, providing a route that is safer, faster and shorter than the old Du Toitskloof Pass travelling over the mountain.
context_section_description: An idea for a tunnel through the Du Toitskloof Mountains was conceived in the 1930s but was put on hold due to the outbreak of World War Two. The idea developed into a pass over the mountains, the Du Toitskloof pass, using the labour of Italian prisoners of war between 1942 and 1945 and continued with ordinary labour until its completion in 1948. Geological surveys and design started in 1973, and excavation followed in 1984, tunneling from both ends using drilling and blasting.
caption: View of new road into Huguenot Tunnel
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