On 04/05/2022 a ground breaking ceremony was held for Lot H52 Hochstegen in the presence of Maria Lorenzatto, godmother of the tunnel, along with the various authorities and companies involved. The excavation works for Lot H52 Hochstegen of the East main tube in the south direction have now officially begun with a blast in the eastern main tunnel!

Lot H52 Hochstegen, in the territory of the municipality of Steinach am Brenner in the Wipptal valley in Tyrol, is a part of the former lot H51 Pfons-Brenner, which was subject to a re-planning. The redistribution of the works, with a separate tender and the commencement of work on Lot H52 Hochstegen, will allow the BBT project to progress more quickly and efficiently.

Lot H52 Hochstegen, which was awarded to the company Swietelsky Tunnelbau GmbH & Co KG, is located in a fault zone characterised by a particularly complex geological context: over a stretch of approximately 500 m, aquifer layers of carbonate rock predominate. The excavation of this section in a southerly direction, through the so-called Hochstegen zone, must therefore be carried out after stabilisation and sealing injections.

Currently, 151 km of the 230 km long BBT tunnel system have been excavated, nearly two-thirds of the entire length. At present, works are being executed in 5 adjacent construction lots. On 19/05/2022 a breakthrough is expected between the Eisack riverbed and Mules sites. Click here, at/16 and it/103 for further detailed information in the tunnelbuilder archives. Visit https://www.bbt-se.com/en/ . 19/22.