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

  • UK Government finalising plans for Stonehenge road tunnel
    January 12, 2017
    The UK Government is finalising its plans for the construction of a road tunnel close to the famous Stonehenge monument in Wiltshire. The 2.9km tunnel will carry the A303, a busy road that carries heavy traffic, particularly during the holiday season when large numbers of tourists pass through the area. The existing route passes close to the Stonehenge monument but the road is widely recognised as being unfit for purpose. As well as carrying cars, it handles a high percentage of large trucks, including heav
  • Amey awarded Scottish strategic highways contract
    June 18, 2014
    Transport Scotland has awarded Amey a six-year contract to maintain and improve the motorways and trunk roads in South East Scotland. The commission, which is valued at over €115.3 million (£90 million), is subject to up to two one-year extensions and will see Amey deliver engineering design and operational delivery services for more than 885km (550 miles) of road. Under the Scottish Trunk Roads Unit South East (STRU SE) contract Amey will be responsible for managing and maintaining routes through Central
  • €180 million for Bosnia highway
    July 6, 2012
    The EBRD is investing in the largest infrastructure project in Bosnia-Herzegovina (BiH) to date by lending €180 million to the state to construct key sections of the Trans-European Corridor Vc. A key transport artery linking BiH with the rest of Europe, Corridor Vc starts in Budapest, Hungary and ends in the Adriatic Port of Ploce in Croatia. It runs north to south through the centre of BiH, and is the most strategically important link for regional trade and economic development. The €180 million EBRD finan
  • Cameroon road development plan
    July 23, 2024
    Cameroon plans to develop its road network.