Achrain tunnel
| Achrain tunnel | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Western tunnel portal near Schwarzach / Dornbirn
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| use | Road tunnel | |||
| traffic connection | Bregenzerwaldstrasse | |||
| length | 3340 | |||
| Number of tubes | 1 | |||
| construction | ||||
| building-costs | 138 million euros | |||
| start of building | June 2004 | |||
| completion | January 2009 | |||
| business | ||||
| release | January 29, 2009 | |||
| Course of the Achrain tunnel and Schwarzachtobelstraße | ||||
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| location | ||||
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| Coordinates | ||||
| West portal Achrain tunnel | 47 ° 26 ′ 15 " N , 9 ° 45 ′ 32" E | |||
| Achrain tunnel east portal | 47 ° 26 ′ 38 " N , 9 ° 47 ′ 45" E | |||
Map with all coordinates: The Achrain tunnel is a toll-free road tunnel between the Vorarlberg communities of Dornbirn and Alberschwende . In the course of the Bregenzerwaldstraße (L 200), the tunnel connects the front Bregenzerwald with the greater Dornbirn area, the northern Rhine Valley and the Rhine Valley / Walgau motorway (A14).
Tunnel data
The single-tube tunnel has an average gradient of 5.1% and a length of 3340 meters. The western tunnel entrance down the valley is located on the municipal boundary of the city of Dornbirn with Schwarzach , while the eastern tunnel portal is in the Schwarzachtobel on the municipal boundary of Dornbirn with Bildstein . There are two uphill lanes and one downhill lane in the Achrain tunnel. The right of the two upward lanes is designed as a slow lane for heavy traffic.
According to the state government, the construction of the tunnel has significantly reduced the volume of traffic in the Hofsteig communities . For example, car traffic between Schwarzach and Wolfurt has decreased by 28 percent and heavy traffic by 33 percent. At the same time, the volume of traffic in the Alberschwende municipal area increased by 15 percent to an average of 10,700 vehicles per day. The Bödelestrasse (L 48) over the Losenpass , which was previously used particularly by tourists as a transport connection to the Bregenzerwald, was also particularly relieved .
Tunneling
The construction of the Achrain Tunnel on behalf of the State of Vorarlberg using the drilling and blasting tunneling (in the area of both tunnel portals and fault zones with the loose rock with the partial cutter ) cost around 55.4 million euros. Including the connection to the Rheintal / Walgau motorway and a conversion of the motorway access, the costs for the entire project were estimated at around 130 million euros. The tunnel was commissioned by the Vorarlberg regional government and the regional road construction authority in Feldkirch and planned by IGT Geotechnik und Tunnelbau Ziviltechniker GmbH from Salzburg.
Construction of the tunnel began in June 2004. On January 29, 2009 the Achrain tunnel was opened to traffic. The travel time from Dornbirn to the Bregenzerwald was shortened by around eight minutes compared to the previously existing road layout over the Achrain ( Achrainstrasse L 49) or through the Schwarzachtobel ( Schwarzachtobelstrasse L 7) thanks to the construction of the tunnel . In addition, the state government believes that the direct access to the motorway provides an improved connection between the Bregenzerwald and the highest-ranking road network.
Criticism of the tunnel construction
The tunnel construction was questioned by neighbors because the expansion of the implemented variant 1 disregarded the fact that the upper tunnel exit falls on an incline that is not passable for heavy traffic in winter without snow chains or that driving without the snow chains poses a high safety risk represent. The old route through the Schwarzachtobel can still be used, but is only used by the non- express bus in regular service. Variants 2 (which would have ended after Alberschwende ) and variant 3 (upper end of the tunnel near Bizau ) that were not implemented would have meant that the Schwarzachtobel would no longer have been passable at all. With variant 3, the snow reliability of the Bregenzerwald would have been best taken into account, as industrial areas are increasingly emerging in this region and tourism is also steadily increasing.
The cost explosion of the tunnel construction from the initially projected 46 million euros to 138 million euros in the end caused strong criticism, especially from the opposition in the Vorarlberg state parliament . The State Audit Office examined the cost increase of the project in 2006 and found this to be largely justified, in particular because of the geological difficulties that only became apparent during construction.
Web links
- Project description on the website of the Vorarlberg state government ( memento from January 31, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c data sheet of the construction company Jäger Bau . (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on November 29, 2014 ; Retrieved August 27, 2011 .
- ↑ a b c Vorarlberg Achrain Tunnel officially opened. DiePresse.com , January 29, 2009, accessed January 3, 2015 .
- ^ ORF Vorarlberg: traffic shift through Achrain tunnel . Article dated February 13, 2011.
- ↑ a b Report on the examination of the construction project L200-new Dornbirn North - Schwarzachtobel with Achrain tunnel. (PDF; 324 kB) Landesrechnungshof Vorarlberg, accessed on January 3, 2016 .