• The contract is worth 123 million euro.
• This will be the first highway tunnel in Austria to be built by a tunnel boring machine (TBM).

FCC, through its Austrian subsidiary, has won the bidding process to construct the second Pfänder tunnel, on highway A-14 in the Rhine valley, Austria. The contract is worth 123 million euro.
 
The present Pfänder tunnel, from Rheintal to Walgau, is the most heavily transited tunnel in Austria. Because of major traffic jams, it has been decided to build a second tunnel on the same highway.
 
FCC, whose bid was the most highly rated, landed the contract in competition against five other bidders. The specifications allowed for two different tunnelling systems: conventional, using explosives, and mechanical. Alpine's offer is based on the tunnel boring system.
 
Alpine will bore the 6.5-km-long tunnel using a TBM. It will be the first highway tunnel to be built in Austria using this method, which has been used successfully in countries such as Spain and Switzerland.
 
Construction will begin in October of this year and is scheduled to finish in summer 2012.Once the new tunnel is completed, the current tunnel will be refurbished and, in summer 2013, the Pfänder tunnel will be opened in both directions.
 
 
Tunnelling skills:

Alpine has a successful track record in tunnels for highways as well as commuter, underground and high-speed rail. It is currently building the Lainz, Katschberg and Achrain tunnels in Austria, the Gotthard tunnel in Switzerland, and underground railways in Athens and Singapore.
 
The Alpine Group operates worldwide. With annual revenues of approximately 2.300 million euro and a total staff of 12,750, Alpine is Austria's second-largest construction company. The FCC group acquired 80% of Alpine in 2006.