Work begun 1986 Character Single-tube | Opened 1991 Number of lanes 2 | |
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Location Sankt Jakob im Rosental, Carinthia, Austria / Hrušica, Municipality of Jesenice, Slovenia Route Karawanken Autobahn / A2 motorway Operator Autobahnen- und Schnellstraßen- Finanzierungs- Aktiengesellschaft (ASFiNAG) Address 9183 Sankt Jakob im Rosental, Austria Similar Seecamp Berghof, Kärnten Werbung GmbH, Klagenfurt West Bahnhof, Terrassen Camping Ossiache, McDonal | ||
The Karawanks Tunnel (German: Karawankentunnel, Slovene: Predor Karavanke or Karavanški predor) is a motorway tunnel crossing the Alpine Karawanks mountain range between Austria and Slovenia, with a total length of 7,864 m (25,801 ft) (4.89 miles), 8,019 m (26,309 ft) (4.98 miles) enclosure between the portals. Its construction began in 1986 and it opened on June 1, 1991. It connects the Austrian Karawanken Autobahn (A11) from Villach with the A2 motorway leading to Kranj and Ljubljana in Slovenia, decongesting the historic Loibl/Ljubelj and Wurzen/Korensko sedlo mountain passes.
In the late 1970s it was planned as a two-tube tunnel, (one two-lane tube for each direction), but lower than expected levels of traffic have meant that it has remained a single tube, single lane, two-way tunnel. The tunnel was built between 1986 and 1991 by the Tauern Autobahn stock company at the behest of the Federal Republic of Austria, represented by the State of Carinthia. At its opening it was one of the best equipped tunnels with safety and surveillance systems: emergency phones, fire detectors, video surveillance, traffic signalling, radio and phone connections, air circulation monitoring and carbon monoxide sensors.
Less than a month after its opening, in late June 1991, the Slovene terminus of the tunnel and its border post at Jesenice were briefly seized by an armored detachment of the Yugoslav People's Army during the Ten-Day War. The site witnessed brief but intense fighting, which included the ferrying of reinforcements to the Yugoslav troops by helicopter and culminated in an ineffectual airstrike by the Yugoslav air force. The border checkpoint building was heavily damaged in the crossfire.
Driving on Austrian as well as on Slovenian motorways requires a toll sticker. However, driving through the tunnel doesn't require the austrian one. Instead, a special toll (2016 rate) of 7.20 euros (20% VAT included) is imposed on drivers of vehicles up to 3.5 tons for using the tunnel. The toll is collected for the section from the closest on-ramp to the tunnel on the Austrian side to the Austrian/Slovenian border in the middle of the tunnel.
Vehicles over 3.5t (trucks, buses, motorhomes) pay toll on Austrian highways based on number of kilometres travelled. For the 10 km section that includes the tunnel a special rate 8.6 times higher than normal one is applied, coming to 16.27-46.36 € incl.VAT (13.56-38.63 € + 20% VAT) depending on number of axles and engine emission standard.
Since Slovenia has joined the Schengen Area by the end of 2007, border controls have been abolished. Due to increasing traffic volume especially after the completion of the second tube of the Tauern Road Tunnel in June 2011, congestions crop up, especially on weekends, in the summer season and have led to the resumption of plans to build a second tube. The contract for the second twin tunnel was signed in September 2015, with a expected completion date of 2023.