Plabutschtunnel

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Plabutschtunnel
Plabutschtunnel
South portal
use Motorway tunnel
traffic connection Pyhrn Autobahn
place Graz
length approx. 10 kmdep1
Number of tubes 2
cross-section 86 - 146 m²
construction
Client Office of the Styrian Provincial Government
building-costs 1st tube: approx. € 160 million; 2nd tube: approx. € 142 million
start of building East tube 1980, west tube 1998
completion East tube 1987, west tube 2003
planner Geoconsult
business
operator ASFINAG
toll Vignette requirement
release East tube 1987, west tube 2004
location
Plabutschtunnel (Styria)
Red pog.svg
Red pog.svg
Red pog.svg
Coordinates
North portal 47 ° 6 ′ 27 ″  N , 15 ° 22 ′ 45 ″  E
South portal 47 ° 2 ′ 0 ″  N , 15 ° 24 ′ 24 ″  E
northern emergency exit 47 ° 4 ′ 25 ″  N , 15 ° 23 ′ 21 ″  E
southern emergency exit 47 ° 2 ′ 29 "  N , 15 ° 22 ′ 53"  E

The approximately 10 km long (east tube 9,919 m, west tube 10,085 m) Plabutschtunnel , which leads through the range of hills of Buchkogel and Plabutsch on the western outskirts of Graz , is a section of the Austrian Pyhrn motorway A9, which extends over a length of 230 kilometers from the junction Voralpenkreuz ( Sattledt , Upper Austria ) extends over Graz to Spielfeld ( Styria ) on the border with Slovenia . The tunnel runs from the Graz- Webling node in the south of Graz to Raach in the north of the city.

The tunnel relieved the old guest worker route , which connected the Balkan states with Central Europe and, in the absence of alternatives, ran directly through Graz.

History and construction

The originally planned route of the A9 should lead on the edge of the range of hills through the west of Graz. The so-called "Eggenberger Trasse" through the middle of the Eggenberg district of Graz met with fierce opposition, especially as the volume of traffic was considerable even then. The mayor Gustav Scherbaum ( SPÖ ), who was popular in itself and had an absolute majority, lost the Graz municipal council election on February 25, 1973 because he had the signature lists of the citizens' initiative checked on a large scale for a referendum . The Grazer FPÖ and ÖVP , however, had joined the concerns of the citizens' initiative. In 1975 a referendum was carried out on three variants. The regional transport councilor (and later governor) Josef Krainer (ÖVP) spoke out in favor of the tunnel variant up to Webling, as did 62% of the people of Graz with 35% participation. As a result, an ÖVP-FPÖ coalition was formed at the municipal level and the route through the Plabutsch was fixed. Construction began on August 4, 1980.

The tunnel was initially built with only one two-lane tube, the east tube, and opened on June 27, 1987.

A route as originally planned would also have relieved the urban target traffic, in particular the Eggenberger Belt, which is heavily burdened by commuters, and the Kärntnerstraße. Since the existing Plabutschtunnel apart from the two tunnel portals has no access u. Has departures, it does not relieve the target traffic.

Around 20 years after the first, construction of the second tunnel was started. The first planning for the construction of the Plabutsch tunnel west tube began in 1996. The groundbreaking ceremony took place on July 19, 1999. After four and a half years of construction, the west tube was opened to traffic on January 30, 2004. The east tube, which has been in operation for around 16 years longer, was brought up to the safety level of the new west tube between February and November 2004.

Since December 17, 2004, the tunnel can be used with two tubes, each with two lanes. It is the second longest twin-tube tunnel in Europe (after the Gran Sasso tunnel in Italy ). In 2004 around 23,000 vehicles rolled through the tunnel every day. After the two-tube Plabutsch tunnel has been put into operation, around 30,000 vehicles will use it every day and up to 41,000 vehicles on peak days.

Refurbishment 2017-2019

Transfer to the south portal

In order to bring the Plabutsch tunnel back up to date, the tunnel was renovated from the end of 2017 to autumn 2019. The existing safety equipment was renewed and expanded. The tunnel tubes received 20 additional cross passages, three of which are also accessible for emergency vehicles. The tunnel also received the AKUT system, which recognizes unusual noises such as door slamming or screams and sounds the alarm. After the renovation, the tunnel has accessible cross-passages of max. every 350 meters and passable crosscuts max. every 1,057 meters. In addition, both tubes received permanent equipment for two-way traffic, which should prevent longer detours through the Graz city area in the event of closures.

In order to keep the loads on the road network of the city of Graz as low as possible, the renovation was carried out during ongoing operations. For the construction work, one tube was closed at night (8:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.; some Sundays all day) - during this time traffic was directed through the other tube. To set up the traffic management, the traffic in front of the tunnel was stopped for about 10 minutes. The transition was made with pivoting lane dividers directly in front of the portals.

Until the completion of the renovation, a speed limit of 80 km / h applied in both tubes, which was also monitored by Section Control. In addition, it was not possible to change lanes in the tube with oncoming traffic. The old speed limit of 100 km / h has been in effect again since February 21, 2020.

safety

The safety of road users was the main focus when setting up the tunnel. It is considered to be one of the safest road tunnels in all of Europe . The tunnel control room at the south portal was equipped with the latest technology, including six large-area monitors. The control panel is designed for two-man operation. As a rule, however, a tunnel attendant monitors and controls the entire system.

The most important tunnel safety devices at a glance:

  • The roadway is designed as a concrete pavement.
  • 4 passable crosscuts (connections from one tube to the other) for all emergency vehicles and for any traffic redirection.
  • 13 additional cross passages that can be walked on, which serve as an escape route to the neighboring tube.
  • 2 emergency exits: Baiernstrasse and Krottendorfer Strasse.
  • A fire extinguishing niche every 106 meters (87 in total) and tunnel extinguishing systems in all nine storage niches.
  • An emergency call niche every 212 meters, equipped with an emergency telephone, two hand fire extinguishers and an emergency call and fire alarm button in the front area.
  • Continuous fire alarm sensors in the tunnel area (FibroLaser II).
  • Full cross ventilation with six ventilation sections per tunnel tube.
  • Ten supply and exhaust air machines each.
  • 90 exhaust air louvers (twelve square meters) at a distance of 106 meters, with which smoke can be extracted specifically above the source of the fire.
  • Continuous monitoring with TV cameras (controlled by the Plabutsch tunnel control room) with central image recording and image evaluation.
  • Tunnel radio for emergency services, maintenance and traffic radio coverage.
  • Continuous, brightly reflective four meter high coating.
  • Light halos to break the tunnel monotony.
  • Curb reflectors on the left and right edge of the road.
  • Improved escape route orientation lights in order to be able to indicate a recommended escape direction to those seeking help.
  • Safety power supply for the emergency lighting and escape route lighting as well as for the control and monitoring systems.

The two emergency exits lead into the urban area of ​​Graz: the northern one via Jägersteig into Baiernstraße (Graz-Eggenberg), the southern one via Bründlgasse into Krottendorfer Straße (Graz-Straßgang).

  • Southern emergency exit, portal

  • Southern emergency exit, tunnel

  • Northern emergency exit, portal

  • Northern emergency exit, tunnel

Others

The tunnel tubes are also used for additional purposes, for example an emergency water line for the supply of East, South and West Styria runs through the western tunnel tube.

On October 3, 2011, a section control was put into operation to minimize accidents in the tunnel and avoid speeding. According to the police, operations over six months showed a decrease from 100 to 15 speed violations per day.

Web links

Commons : Plabutschtunnel  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ http://www.geoconsult.at/tl_files/geoconsult/theme/media/img/projects/01%20-%20Planung/PB_A9%20Pyhrn%20Autobahn%20Plabutsch_dt.pdf
  2. ↑ a b Hirschmann: Plabutschtunnel. (PDF) (No longer available online.) SG Connect, archived from the original on December 3, 2013 ; Retrieved August 28, 2008 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.sgconnect.com
  3. ↑ a b c Anna König: Plabutschtunnel. State Press Service Styria / City of Graz, September 28, 2007, archived from the original on September 30, 2008 ; accessed on July 5, 2018 .
  4. ↑ ASFINAG: Plabutschtunnel "saves" Graz 13 million vehicles a year. ASFINAG in APA-OTS , February 21, 2014, accessed on July 5, 2018 .
  5. ↑ a b ASFINAG: Plabutschtunnel full expansion (A 9 Pyhrn motorway) completed. ASFINAG, December 16, 2014, accessed on July 5, 2018 .
  6. ^ A 9 Pyhrn motorway renovation of the Plabutsch tunnel. ASFINAG, 2016, accessed on March 29, 2018 .
  7. ↑ Siemens AG: Video surveillance in the Plabutschtunnel in Graz sets new security standards. Siemens, July 7, 2005, accessed July 5, 2018 .
  8. ↑ Section Control in operation in the Plabutsch tunnel. ORF Steiermark , October 10, 2011, accessed on July 5, 2018 .
  9. ↑ Plabutschtunnel: Section control works. ORF Steiermark , April 7, 2012, accessed on July 5, 2018 .