The long path to approval of the Semmering Base Tunnel and the effect on construction progress / Der lange Weg zur Genehmigung des Semmering-Basistunnels und Auswirkungen auf den Bauablauf

With the ruling of the Austrian federal administrative court in May 2015, all necessary permits have now been issued for the construction of the Semmering Base Tunnel. The project is one of the most reviewed projects in Austria, and as the other authorities had done previously, the federal administrative court once again confirmed the environmental acceptability of the project. Until the judgement of the constitutional high court with the revocation of the construction permit (served on 10 February 2014), all necessary preliminary works had been carried out on schedule and within budget since 2012. The preliminary works started in the Fröschnitzgraben in January 2014 could however only be continued with limitations on the basis of official notifications issued without preliminary investigation. No construction could take place at the landfill site due to the lack of a decision under the waste management law. Only after the ruling by the federal administrative court could the construction works be resumed at full pace. Works started soon after in the Gloggnitz tunnel section in Lower Austria on 1 July 2015. Construction works for the third and final tunnel section, Grautschenhof, were officially tendered on 2 September 2015. By 2016, all tunnel construction contracts should be continuously under construction.