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.

Finance & Funding

Related Content

  • Bosnia road tunnel project
    December 4, 2020
    A key Bosnian road tunnel project is underway.
    Read More
  • Austria’s challenging highway bridge replacement
    January 20, 2025
    A challenging highway bridge replacement is planned for Austria.
    Read More
  • Meet Die Autobahn des Bundes
    November 8, 2021
    Only recently has Germany created a central organisation to maintain and develop the nation’s 13,200km of motorways, called autobahns. Moving from 16 state-run operation centres to one lead centre is a challenge but essential, says Gerd Riegelhuth.
    Read More
  • Bosnia Herzogovina highway project receiving EBRD loan
    September 12, 2018
    A loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) worth €180 million will help to pay for the construction of the Corridor Vc highway project. This highway is of key importance for the economic development of Bosnia and Herzegovina as it will provide and improved transport connection with Europe. The loan will help to pay for the construction of three new sections of Corridor Vc, measuring some 16km. The loan will be provided in two tranches, with the first of up to €120 million and b
    Read More

Highlighted Content