Brenner base tunnel contract awarded

The overall value of the project is estimated at EUR 300M (USD 408M), of which Salini Impregilo has a 41 per cent share.

Salini Impregilo and Strabag won the Isarco River Underpass contract ­ the most important project of its kind to be contracted on Italian territory to date ­ just a few months after winning the Tulfes-Pfons contract in Austria.

Tulfes-Pfons is the main segment of the Brenner Base Tunnel, part of the Trans-European Networks (TEN). The contract for the Isarco River underpass is the final segment of the Brenner Base Tunnel project, at 64km the longest underground railway connection in the world and the primary element of a new railway line that will connect Munich and Verona, Italy. Passenger trains travelling this railway corridor will be limited to maximum speeds of 250km per hour. Travel time on the current line is roughly 80 minutes, which will be reduced to approximately 25 minutes once the new line is completed.

The Isarco Underpass is the southern segment of the Brenner Base Tunnel, located in Prà di Sopra in Italy¹s Bolzano province. Planned construction for the project will include civil works for the two main tunnels for a total length of roughly 4.3km, as well as two interconnecting tunnels for a total length of 2.3km that connect with the existing railway line. Construction will be extremely complex from a technical point of view: both the main tunnels and the interconnecting tunnels will pass beneath the Isarco River, A22 motorway, SS12 state motorway and the Verona-Brenner railway line with minimal leeway. The project will conclude with environmental recovery efforts in the areas affected by construction.

Work is scheduled to begin in the second half of this year, and continue for eight years.