With a Double Barrel through Karavanke

28. 09. 2011

With a Double Barrel through Karavanke


Transport Minister Patrick Vlačič and Carinthian Governor General Gerhard Doerfler agreed in Kranjska Gora that a second tube was a better solution for the Karavanke tunnel than the parallel emergency tunnel promoted by the Austrian federal government. The pair wants to join forces in pushing through this view.

 

"Our view is that a second tube should be constructed in the corridor from Hamburg to Thessaloniki as opposed to wrongly investing in the construction of an emergency tunnel," the governor of the Austrian province that is also connected to Slovenia via the tunnel told the press after the meeting.

 

Doerfler argued that such a solution was better both in terms of safety as well as the benefits it woudl have for the local economy, not only Slovenia's.

 

Vlacic and Doefler established that they hold a similar view on the issue, while the standpoints remain to be harmonised with the Austrian federal government.

 

"I believe that Carinthia's view will help agreeing on the solution that has already been adopted by the Slovenian side and that has been discussed by the mixed commission," Vlacic said.

 

 

 

Doerfler added that the federal government was following developments in Ljubljana and Carinthia, which should stand united to see Vienna adapt to their views.

 

Experts from both countries participating in the mixed commission are expected to present their view on the matter by the end of January next year, while a final political decision should come by the end of March.

 

The Karavanke tunnel, connecting motorways A11 in Austria and A2 in Slovenia under the Karavanke mountain range, was opened to traffic as the longest tunnel in Slovenia on 1 June 1991.

 

The 8-km tunnel was planned as a two-tube tunnel, but because of the lower-than-expected levels of traffic it has remained a single-tube, two-way tunnel.

 

The traffic has however gotten heavier and the long-term safety of the tunnel requires a second tube or a parallel emergency tunnel. The EU has set 2019 as the deadline for resolving the situation.

 

Source: Slovenia Times

With a Double Barrel through Karavanke