Skip to main content

Austria-Slovenia tunnel project awarded

Construction of the second tube of the Karawanks Tunnel connecting Austria and Slovenia is now going ahead. The work will be headed by Austrian contractors, ARGE Swietelsky Tunnelbau and Swietelsky Baugesellschaft. The 7.8km-long tunnel route runs under the Alpine Karawanks mountain range. The Austrian motorway operator Asfinag is investing around €168 million into the project, while the European Commission is providing €25 million. The work being carried out will include building new rescue routes as wel
August 9, 2018 Read time: 1 min
Construction of the second tube of the Karawanks Tunnel connecting Austria and Slovenia is now going ahead. The work will be headed by Austrian contractors, ARGE Swietelsky Tunnelbau and Swietelsky Baugesellschaft.


The 7.8km-long tunnel route runs under the Alpine Karawanks mountain range. The Austrian motorway operator Asfinag is investing around €168 million into the project, while the European Commission is providing €25 million. The work being carried out will include building new rescue routes as well as installing the latest fire protection facilities and communication systems.

Construction of the first tunnel commences in 1986 and this was opened to traffic in 1991. The tunnel links the Austrian Autobahn A11 from Villach with the A2 highway, running across the border to the Slovenian cities of Kranj and Ljubljana. The road tunnel forms part of the transport axis Munich-Salzburg-Ljubljana-Thessaloniki, also called Pan-European Corridor-X.

Related Content

  • New road links will cut congestion in St Petersburg
    June 20, 2016
    Road building will solve the problem of traffic jams in St Petersburg – Eugene Gerden writes The authorities in Russian city St Petersburg plan to solve the problem of traffic jams in the city during the next few years. The strategy is expected to be achieved through road building and the improvement of transport connections between different districts in the city. Implementation of these plans will take place as part of the decree 355 "Of the Strategy of St Petersburg Economic and Social Development
  • Eastern European highway and tunnel projects
    May 15, 2012
    Serbia’s Corridor 10 project, seen as key to the country’s future economic development, is 20 years behind schedule. With construction delayed and the matter being debated, the Serbian Ministry for Infrastructure, which reported the schedule delay, says the country is working as fast as possible, with 22km being built/year. The corridor will connect the country with its neighbours and provide an important route for through traffic.
  • Colombia road projects delivered
    September 24, 2020
    Important road projects in Colombia have been delivered successfully.
  • Cost rises again for Columbia’s unfinished La Linea tunnel
    February 3, 2015
    Columbia’s transport minister has said it will take nearly US$168 million and more than two years to finish the controversial La Linea tunnel. Natalia Abello Vives said the government has a “plan B” to finish the 8.65km tunnel, which, as World Highways reported in May, has less than a kilometre remaining to be constructed. It was originally scheduled to be open by last November. The La Linea tunnel project, or Segundo Centenario tunnel, crosses the central mountain range and forms part of the Bogota-B