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1. Various of control room with tunnel monitors, computers and emergency exit charts 2. Wide of Mont-Blanc tunnel statue - pan to tunnel's French entrance 3. Exterior of French entrance to Mont-Blanc tunnel 4. Tracking shot of tunnel 5. Various inside tunnel 6. SOUNDBITE: (French) Bertrand Levy, Director of the Mont Blanc Road and Tunnel Company: "We have to be modest. I think that no one can seriously guarantee that a public circulation structure can be 100 percent safe. What we can say is that we think we've put everything into action and we will continue to put everything into action in order to guarantee the safety of this tunnel. And that all the devices available such as surveillance, alert, prevention, have been deployed in this tunnel." 7. Emergency sign pan to emergency exit 8. Various of emergency exit and shelter 9. Emergency evacuation tunnel 10. SOUNDBITE: (French) Dominique Van Peteghem, Tunnel Contractor: "On each side (of the air corridor) there are fences to prevent people from leaving on their own. In principle we come to get them so we can evacuate them. In this gallery, there is a small electric vehicle. It is 70 centimeters wide and has two pilot seats and it can transport four people seated or one stretcher. There are two in the tunnel to evacuate people." 11. More of tunnel 12. Tracking shot of tunnel STORYLINE: The revamped Mont Blanc tunnel is due to reopen on December 22 - more than two years after its closure following a devastating blaze that killed 39 people. The 1999 fire in the trans-Alpine crossing - which links France and Italy - was caused by a truck that caught fire inside the tunnel. New safety and surveillance features have been added to the tunnel since the disaster. From the brand new control room, technicians will now be able to keep an eye on traffic on 12 video screens, screening images from 120 cameras positioned inside the tunnel. Thermal detectors have been installed on both sides of the tunnel to enable inspectors to monitor trucks' engine temperatures on their computer screens. In case of emergency, people will be directed to one of 37 pressurised emergency shelters, which are designed to withstand high temperatures. Each shelter is linked to an evacuation corridor running the entire length of the tunnel. All trucks entering the soon-to-be-reopened Mont-Blanc tunnel will first undergo safety checks to verify that their engines are not overheated. Under the new safety tests, if a truck's engine registers a temperature considered to be too high, the vehicle will be barred from entering the tunnel and directed to a nearby parking lot. Heavy trucks will not be able to begin using the tunnel until several weeks after it reopens to car traffic. Up to 5,000 tests have already been conducted by French and Italian officials as part of the safety revamp of the tunnel. Almost 300 (m) million euros have been spent on repairs to make the crossing more secure. The tunnel reopening is going ahead in spite of strong opposition from local residents and environmentalists. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/375f0a2a6bb2618a1810198b706a3f50 Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork