"Swiss engineer Carl Eduard Gruner first imagined it in 1947: a massive tunnel, unprecedented in length, buried a mile and a half under Switzerland's symbolic Gotthard mountain range."

"Nearly seven decades later, after redesigns, political disagreements and the long, slow work of drilling beneath the Gotthard massif, as it's called, Gruner's dream is complete."

"The Gotthard Base Tunnel — a record-setting 35.4 miles long, and farther below ground than any other tunnel — was inaugurated Wednesday. The occasion was marked with a celebration that promoted "Swiss values such as innovation, precision and reliability," as the tunnel's website puts it."

"The $12 billion project was completed on time, The Associated Press notes."