They point out that the existing trans-Alpine road and rail routes seem to cope very nicely, thank you.

BBC: Italy's 10-metre Alpine mega-tunnel

They had shaken hands and he had saluted and gone out to the staff car where the old man was waiting asleep and in that car they had ridden over the road past Guadarrama, the old man still asleep, and up the Navacerrada road to the Alpine Club hut where he, Robert Jordan, slept for three hours before they started.

NPR: Robert Jordan, Hemingway's Bipartisan Hero

Within 10 minutes of leaving the golden-hued lakeside wine country and joining the road to Switzerland, the climate and the scenery become distinctively Alpine.

BBC: The spirit of the Italian Lakes

Then the hard work will begin in his quest for World Cup and Olympic glory: six months on the road with the U.S. team when he hopes to fulfill his remaining ambitions in alpine racing.

CNN: Ted 'Shred' Ligety: Skiing's winning machine