The exploratory tunnel of the future Brenner Base Tunnel (BBT) is now excavated. Earlier this week, workers from the Italian and Austrian sides met at the border with the demolition of the last wall of rock separating the two countries 1,400 metres underground. It is the first time that one of the BBT tunnels connects Italy and Austria.
The breakthrough attracted high-level representatives from Italy, Austria and the European Union, including the Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Austria’s chancellor Christian Stocker and Apostolos Tzitzikostas. The exploratory tunnel is located roughly 12 metres below the two main east and west tunnels and stretches for around 55 kilometres.
The infrastructure “serves two key functions during the operational phase: to provide information on rock quality and to explore the geological conditions for excavating the main tunnels. Once the base tunnel is operational, the exploratory tunnel will be used for drainage and maintenance of the facilities”, BBT, the company in charge of the project said.
