Austria and Italy agree Brenner tunnel construction Last week, in Rome, the transport ministers of Austria and Italy signed a definitive agreement on the construction of the 56 km-long Brenner rail tunnel through the Alps, a project that will reduce lorry traffic across the Brenner Pass and Tyrol by 2022. Until recently, there were doubts whether construction would go ahead due to financing problems in Austria and Italy, despite the EU picking up 20% of the bill. The new agreement activates the treaty signed between the two countries five years ago, since when much preparatory work for the base tunnel has been completed and high-speed rail connections have been developed. Visit tunnelbuilder archive at/16 for history of the project, and enter "Brenner" into archive search for backup rail projects. 22/09.