Ceremonial tunnel commencement of the construction lot “Hochstegen”

SWIETELSKY has been awarded the contract for this approximately five-kilometer-long and geologically complex section of the Brenner Base Tunnel (BBT).

The core of this construction lot is the advance of the exploratory tunnel towards the south through the so-called Hochstegen zone. The SWIETELSKY Tunnel Construction team will advance a total of five kilometers of the tunnel using blasting. “The section is challenging as different rock layers alternate. We expect areas with water influx and must therefore ensure that as little groundwater as possible enters the tunnel,” says BBT SE board member Martin Gradnitzer.
The work will take about two years. The contract volume for SWIETELSKY is approximately 102 million euros. A total of two-thirds, around 151 of 230 kilometers, of the BBT tunnel system has already been excavated. The first trains are expected to run in 2032. The overall project will cost around 9.6 billion euros.

Background information:
The original construction lot “Pfons-Brenner” was divided into two lots and re-awarded. The first part of the large construction lot of the tunnel from Steinach to the Italian border was awarded to SWIETELSKY. It is the geologically complex construction lot “H52 Hochstegen.” The tender for the construction lot “Pfons-Brenner” is not yet completed. For the two BBT SE board members, Martin Gradnitzer and Gilberto Cardola, the division allows "the tunnel works of the overall project to be continued quickly and efficiently."