NEWS

"How nice to be able to go back to the Sill Gorge and see the finished works!", "The tunnel up close is truly majestic!", "I can't wait to take a trip through here to Italy, it will be fantastic!". These are just some of the comments from the thousands of visitors who visited us at the Sill Gorge construction site on Saturday 4 October.

The Sill Gorge, where work was completed in December 2024, is an extremely complex construction site. Despite the fact that the stretch between the BBT's northern end and the main station in Innsbruck is comparatively short (only 600 metres), the work required some highly challenging engineering. For example, it was necessary to insert up to 60 anchor bolts, each 120 metres long, into the loose rock of the Viller Berg slopes at the northern portal. The construction of the two bridges over the Sill was an important feat of engineering as well.

At the same time, it was necessary to preserve the important recreational area in the Sill Gorge that is so popular with the residents in Innsbruck. After the work was completed at the end of last year, the area was re-vegetated and returned to its original state. With the re-vegetation process, space and beauty were restored to the Sill Gorge: native plants and shrubs were carefully reintroduced to restore this area to its original appearance. The Sill Gorge has thus once again become a place to enjoy nature and leisure and, from here, it is once again possible to set off on numerous hikes in the countryside.

A day for the whole family
The programme offered was quite extensive. Visitors were met at the Sill Gorge construction site, where numerous information stands manned by expert technicians from BBT SE awaited them, providing information on topics such as geology, railway equipment, tunnel construction methods, surveying, the environment, the international dimension of the project within the SCAN-MED corridor, and much more. Between one stand and another, visitors were able to have a pick-me-up at the catering tent and relax while watching the many impressive videos about the Brenner Base Tunnel project, which were screened in the cinema area.

The highlight of the day were the two walking routes, of 800 and 1100 metres respectively, which allowed visitors to reach the adjacent H41 Sill Gorge-Pfons construction site as well and thus get a close-up view of the latest work progress. The two construction sites, H21 Sill Gorge and H41 Sill Gorge-Pfons, have actually been connected as of September 2024, thanks to the breakthrough in the east line tunnel. Right at the culmination of the walking tour, an immersive reality show was set up for the guests who could thus see the BBT project in 360 degrees for themselves.

There was no shortage of entertainment for children. In addition to the immersive reality show, our youngest guests were able to enjoy many other games, such as face painting, dancing and magic shows.

Work is ongoing with an eye to efficiency and sustainability
As the many visitors were able to see during today's visit, the re-vegetation process has restored space and beauty to the Sill Gorge, with native plants and shrubs bringing vitality and harmony to the landscape. The exploratory tunnel, access to which is clearly visible from this area, now connects Italy and Austria thanks to the breakthrough celebrated on 18 September. Almost 90 per cent of the excavation works are already finished, and the recent progress bodes well for the continuation of the work, as we look forward to the time when it will be possible to reach Fortezza from here in just 25 minutes.

Once again, heartfelt thanks go to the fire brigade teams and rescue organisations, as well as to all BBT SE employees who made themselves available in the event area to ensure our guests' safety and to answer their many questions about our project.

See you with more new and exciting news at the next Open Day!