With the Sillschlucht construction lot, the north portal is completed

The “Sillschlucht” construction lot was completed at the beginning of December 2024. It is the northernmost section of the Brenner Base Tunnel and forms the northern portal of what will become the longest railway tunnel in the world.

Although the Sillschlucht is one of the shortest project sections at 600 meters, some of the biggest logistical and construction challenges had to be overcome here. In the area of ​​the north portal, up to 60 prestressing anchors with lengths of up to 120 meters had to be drilled into the rock of the Viller Berg. The work was completed within the specified construction period of 52 months. The contract value was almost 60 million euros. The executing construction company was PORR Bau GmbH Kematen.

Sillschlucht construction lot – several building structures above and below ground
Not only the Sill, but also the narrowness of the gorge made the construction a challenging task, both above and below ground. In addition, infrastructure already exists in this area, such as the A12 Inntal motorway, the A13 Brenner motorway, the Tirol Panorama Museum, the Untere Sill power plant and the existing ÖBB railway line in the Bergisel Tunnel.

“The Sillschlucht construction lot was very challenging because it is a complex building ensemble,” explains the responsible project manager, Martin Keinprecht. “170 bored piles for the reinforced concrete retaining wall, three 50 meter long steel bridges as well as a 55 meter long tension band bridge for pedestrians, a tunnel made of reinforced concrete and the north portal structure underline the variety of different building structures,” says Keinprecht.

“We are very pleased about the further completion of an important tunnel section of the Brenner Base Tunnel,” emphasize the two board members of the project company BBT SE, Martin Gradnitzer and Gilberto Cardola. “Portals are the only components of a railway tunnel that are visible from the outside. The north portal near Innsbruck and the south portal near Franzensfeste will give the Brenner Base Tunnel infrastructure project a unique and unmistakable look.”