Strabag in €110 million deal to equip transalpine tunnel
16 July 2024
The Jagdbergtunnel in Germany features security systems similar to those set to be installed in the Karawanks tunnel (Image courtesy of Strabag)
Austrian contractor Strabag has won a €110 million (US$120 million) to equip a transalpine tunnel linking Austria and Slovenia.
Strabag’s Infrastructure & Safety Solutions (SISS) will install operational and safety equipment in the 8km-long Karawanks tube tunnel, 4.5km of which sits in Austrian territory and 3.5km of which is in Slovenia. The new tunnel is in addition to an existing tunnel that will be structurally refurbished.
Work involves installing 2,570 tunnel lights, 378 video cameras and around 1,300 kilometres of power and control cables.
All of the lighting, ventilation, fire detection systems, extinguishing systems, traffic lights, escape route signage, video surveillance, equipment for the operating stations and electronics, sensors, power supply and the connection to the monitoring centres of Austrian highway operator ASFINAG and the Slovenian operator DARS will be installed in the coming months.
The Austrian section of the newly built Karawanks Tunnel is already structurally complete. Works on the safety system will begin on the Austrian side at the end of 2024 and will continue from 2025 with structural completion on the Slovenian side. ASFINAG expects the new tunnel tube to be open to two-way traffic at the end of 2025.
Following structural refurbishment of the existing tunnel tube by mid-2027, the installation of the electrical and mechanical equipment in the existing tube will continue. The Karawanks Tunnel is to be completed and in operation with unidirectional traffic by the end of 2028.
Strabag CEO Klemens Haselsteiner said, “We are delighted to have won the contract for the tunnelling technology of the Karawanks Tunnel. We can contribute our expertise perfectly here so that all road users can pass through the tunnel safely in future.”
