The approximately eight-kilometre-long A11 Karawanken Tunnel is an important transalpine traffic artery between Austria and Slovenia. The single-tube tunnel, which opened in 1991 and is operated in two-way traffic, has long since reached its capacity limits, especially during the peak travel season in summer, when up to 30,000 vehicles pass through the eye of the needle every day.
As early as 2015, it was therefore decided to expand the tunnel by a second tube. Due to a delay in the award of contracts on the Slovenian side, the full expansion of the Karawanken Tunnel started in September 2018.
After 7.5 years of construction, the first major milestone of the project was reached on 20 March 2026: the new tube was opened to traffic.
To mark the occasion, representatives of DARS (the Slovenian motorway operator) and ASFiNAG came together on 18 March 2026 and celebrated the opening of the newly constructed tunnel tube in the presence of Slovenian and Austrian politicians – including Federal Minister Peter Hanke, Federal Minister Wolfgang Hattmannsdorfer, as well as Carinthia's Governor Peter Kaiser and his deputy Martin Gruber.
This was also a reason to celebrate for STRABAG Infrastructure & Safety Solutions (SISS), which supplied the complete operational and safety equipment for the new tunnel tube. This includes the power supply and distribution systems, all safety and communication systems (emergency call facilities, video surveillance, fire detection systems, etc.), tunnel lighting, ventilation and sensor systems, as well as the automation technology including connections to the monitoring and control centers of ASFiNAG and DARS.
In the coming years, all traffic will be routed through the new tube so that the general renovation of the existing tube can be carried out. SISS will also be responsible for the operational and safety technology for the second part of the major contract with a total value of around € 110 million (Packages 1 & 2). It is expected that in mid-2029, bidirectional traffic in the Karawanken Tunnel will finally be a thing of the past, once the existing tube has been fully refurbished and reopened to traffic.
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