[1] The tunnel has a length of 7.8 km (4.8 mi), which makes it the longest in South America.
Tunnels are required to provide a low gradient route through the mountains of the Venezuelan Coastal Range.
Granitic rocks are typical of the geology of the area, but clay and alluvium, requiring special ground improvement, have been described as being characteristic of the tunnel.
The tunnels on this line were short, and a rack section was used to deal with the gradients near Bárbula.
[1] In 2016 a report relating to the Italian-based construction firm Salini Impregilo described work on the project as "irregular and marked by slow payments by the client as a result of the country’s poor economic conditions, mainly related to the drop in the price of oil."