Plans in hand for Slovakia’s longest tunnel

RSSIn Slovakia plans are being made for a new project that will become the country’s longest tunnel when it is complete. 7809 Salini Impregilo is the contractor heading the project. The work looks set to cost in the order of €410 million and the project is due for completion in late 2019 or early 2020. Although there was a lower priced bid for the project, this was excluded due to technical problems relating to the proposed tunnel exits. The Visnove Tunnel will measure some 7.7km long and will be constructed in the Tatra Mountains, close to Slovakia’s border with the Ukraine. It will carry the country’s D1 highway, with tunnel forming a section of the route connecting Lietavska Lucka and Dubna Skala. Planning for the Visnove Tunnel has taken some 16 years in all due to a number of complexities, including the financial problems of a company previously involved in the project. 7808 Slovakian National Motorway Company, NDS, has been steering the project, which is for one of the most difficult stretches of the D1 highway. The new highway will connect capital Bratislava with the city of Kosice. This new tunnel is needed to help reduce congestion along the existing route, reducing journey times for drivers and also helping to cut crashes.