This is the second closure in two days, in which the tunnel was closed for a total of 11 hours. Until the end of March, the 11-million-euro renovation of the ventilation system has meant one-way alternating traffic through the tunnel, and complete closures at night. Safety is first and foremost for traffic service DARS. However, recent events reveal how necessary the construction of a second tunnel is.
Traffic jams by the tunnel will continue until the end of March. At that time, the maintenance works should be finished. The second tunnel, estimated to cost 250 million euros, is due to be completed within a decade. Research on the Austrian side has already begun, and will begin on the Slovenian side soon. The second tunnel tube is expected to be finished in the next five or six years.