The Tauern Road Tunnel is located in the Austrian federal state of Salzburg

Salzburg (state)

Salzburg is a state or Land of Austria with an area of 7,156 km2, located adjacent to the German border. It is also known as Salzburgerland, to distinguish it from its capital city, also named Salzburg...

 in Austria

Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

 on the Tauern Autobahn

Tauern Autobahn

The Tauern Autobahn is an autobahn in Austria. It starts at the Salzburg junction with the Westautobahn , runs southwards, crosses the Tauern mountain range of the Central Eastern Alps and leads to the Süd Autobahn and Karawanken Autobahn at Villach in Carinthia...

 north - south connection between Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 and Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 and Slovenia

Slovenia

Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...

. This is a toll road. Since October 2007, the toll has been 12 euro

Euro

The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...

s per car and journey. This tunnel ranks as one of the longest frequently-travelled road tunnels in Austria

Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

.

The Tauern Road Tunnel in the Niedere Tauern

Niedere Tauern

The Niedere Tauern or Low Tauern are a mountain range in central Austria, part of the Central Eastern Alps. They lie on the main chain of the Alps in in the states of Salzburger Land and Styria...

 (Low Tauern) region is a two bore tunnel

Tunnel

A tunnel is an underground passageway, completely enclosed except for openings for egress, commonly at each end.A tunnel may be for foot or vehicular road traffic, for rail traffic, or for a canal. Some tunnels are aqueducts to supply water for consumption or for hydroelectric stations or are sewers...

. The first bore was completed in 1975 with total length of 6,401 metres. A second, parallel tube begain construction in July 2006 and was officially opened with ceremony on 30. June 2011,. The northern entrance of the Tauern tunnels is at Flachau

Flachau

Flachau is a village in the district of St. Johann im Pongau in the Salzburg state, Austria, with a population of 2,639 . Its numerous skiing facilities are part of the Ski Amadé network of ski areas, the largest in Europe.- History :...

 in the St. Johann district (Pongau region), while the southern entrance is at Zederhaus

Zederhaus

Zederhaus is a small village in the district of Tamsweg in the state of Salzburg in Austria with a population of 1250 .- Transportation :Zederhaus is situated at the European route E55...

 in the district of Tamsweg (Lungau). In 2004, the average daily traffic was 17,000 vehicles, a quarter of which were large goods vehicles and trucks (4,353).

The road tunnel should not be confused with the Tauern Rail Tunnel

Tauern Rail Tunnel

The Tauern Railway Tunnel in Austria is the longest tunnel of the Tauern Railway crossing the main chain of the Alps. Currently, it has a length of . The highest point of the tunnel, which is also the highest point in all of the railway line, is at above sea level...

 which operates between Bad Gastein

Bad Gastein

Bad Gastein is a spa town in the Austrian state of Salzburg, situated at the northern rim of the Hohe Tauern national park. It has 5,838 inhabitants. The name "Bad" means "spa", reflecting the town's history as a health resort. It is located at the head of the Gastein valley, about 1,000 metres ...

 and Mallnitz

Mallnitz

Mallnitz is a town in the district of Spittal an der Drau in Carinthia in Austria....

 taking both standard rail passengers as well as cars between the two locations.

History

Low Tauern has historically been a possible crossing point. The adit

Adit

An adit is an entrance to an underground mine which is horizontal or nearly horizontal, by which the mine can be entered, drained of water, and ventilated.-Construction:...

, which connects the Lands of the Federal Republic Salzburg and Steiermark, originates from the time when zinc

Zinc

Zinc , or spelter , is a metallic chemical element; it has the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is the first element in group 12 of the periodic table. Zinc is, in some respects, chemically similar to magnesium, because its ion is of similar size and its only common oxidation state is +2...

, silver

Silver

Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...

, cobalt

Cobalt

Cobalt is a chemical element with symbol Co and atomic number 27. It is found naturally only in chemically combined form. The free element, produced by reductive smelting, is a hard, lustrous, silver-gray metal....

 and lead

Lead

Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...

 were mined. A more exact dating of the drift in the zinc wall is unfortunately not possible. The tunnel is only 300 m long and was made accessible by the Austrian Alpine Association.

1999 Fire

On May 29, 1999 a fire took place in Tauern Road Tunnel in which twelve people were killed and fifty injured. Caused by a collision involving up to 60 individual vehicles, the incident occurred at 5 o'clock in the morning when a truck collided with a column of stationary vehicles waiting at a traffic signal.

As far as investigators could determine, eight people were killed by the force of the collision of the truck while four further victims died from the fire which followed. This was exacerbated by hazardous materials on one of the vehicles involved in the collision.

The tunnel was so badly damaged by the heat from the fire that it had to be closed for three months for repairs during which major work was undertaken to improve the barriers, tunnel walls and ventilation system. A memorial service for the victims of the fire was held in the town of Flachau

Flachau

Flachau is a village in the district of St. Johann im Pongau in the Salzburg state, Austria, with a population of 2,639 . Its numerous skiing facilities are part of the Ski Amadé network of ski areas, the largest in Europe.- History :...

 before the tunnel - one of the primary north-south routes through the Alps

Alps

The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....

- was officially reopened on August 28, 1999.