From the Argentinian side the route to the pass is a slow, gentle incline until entering a tunnel at approximately elevation. On the Chilean side the slope has a far higher grade, and the road descends down a long series of
switchbacks to make the descent. Opened in 1980, the Tunnel of Christ the Redeemer (Spanish: Túnel Cristo Redentor) is long, and serves as an important land crossing between Chile and Argentina. At the middle of the tunnel is the national border, which is the termini of
Chile Route 60 and
Argentina Route 7. The path can be closed during winter because of heavy snows blocking both ends and the threat of
rockfall. Its name comes from the four-ton
Christ the Redeemer of the Andes (
Cristo Redentor de los Andes) statue placed in 1904 near the
Uspallata Pass at an elevation of . The pass was the highest point of the road before the opening of the tunnel lowered the maximum elevation by , eliminated 65 switchbacks and shortened the route by . On 19 September 2013, nearly 15,000 Chileans got stranded on the Argentine side, when the pass had to be closed for 10 hours because of freezing temperatures and between 40 and 50 centimeters of snow. ==Alternative proposed tunnels==