Lobau Tunnel Becomes Reality After Green Light from Hanke

The completion of the road project "S1 Vienna Outer Ring Expressway" including the Lobau Tunnel is indeed happening. Transport Minister Peter Hanke (SPÖ) gave the green light for the construction of the controversial major project on Thursday. The Vienna Outer Ring Expressway is considered the best-reviewed transport project in Austria. The route from the Süßenbrunn junction via Raasdorf to the Schwechat junction, including the tunnel solution, is the optimal path, Hanke told journalists.

The Transport Minister emphasized that more than 20 route variants had been examined and numerous expert reports had been prepared. The tunnel solution is the optimal way to meet the requirements of the living and economic area. "I have used the past months to precisely work through the project in all relevant aspects," said Hanke. Considering all expert reports and statements from specialists, it becomes clear: "The S1 is necessary to secure the economic location of the entire eastern region and to improve the quality of life for people. We are creating the foundation for up to 25,000 jobs, housing for 55,000 people, and relieving the residents of Vienna from truck transit traffic," said the Transport Minister. "That is why I have decided today to hand over the S1 to ASFiNAG for implementation."

Lobau Tunnel Removed from Construction Program

Hanke thus reversed the decision of his predecessor Leonore Gewessler, now head of the Greens, who had the Lobau Tunnel removed from Asfinag's construction program. The completion of the S1 is probably one of the most controversial construction projects in Austria. It is expected that the fierce protests from environmentalists - after all, it runs through and under the Donauauen National Park - will be prolonged.

Asfinag board director Hartwig Hufnagl emphasized that his company "fulfills the corresponding mandate of the Republic as stipulated in the Federal Roads Act with the completion of the S1." "The realization starts north of the Danube with the so-called open land section from Groß-Enzersdorf to the Süßenbrunn junction. For this section, all permits are legally secure and thus unchallengeable," explained Hufnagl.

Divided Reactions After Lobau Tunnel Announcement

The announcement by Transport Minister Peter Hanke (SPÖ) to indeed build the Lobau Tunnel has, as expected, led to very divided reactions. While the top politicians of the affected federal states Vienna and Lower Austria as well as the automobile clubs welcomed the decision, there was criticism from environmental NGOs. Leonore Gewessler (Greens), who as the then Transport Minister had halted the project, wanted to give a statement in the afternoon.

Vienna's City Councilor for Mobility Ulli Sima (SPÖ) welcomed the announcements to initiate the completion of the regional ring in the north of Vienna: "Every major city in Austria and Europe has a bypass, only the 2-million city Vienna does not. We have already lost a lot of time due to the S1 stop by the former Green Transport Minister Leonore Gewessler to free people from the unbearable transit burden and to advance the climate-friendly urban development of Vienna," said Sima.

"End to Ideologically Driven Transport Policy"

Governor Johanna Mikl-Leitner (ÖVP) described the construction of the S1 completion as "good news for the residents of the eastern region." Lower Austria has been pushing for realization for many years. "Finally, something is moving forward with this central transport project." Thus, the federal government is drawing a "line under the ideologically driven transport policy of recent years," said Mikl-Leitner. She also spoke of an important "partial success needed to realize the S8 in the Marchfeld."

"It is a long-overdue step," commented Lower Austria's Deputy Governor Udo Landbauer (FPÖ) on the plans. "Minister Hanke should not be led astray from the right path by left-green climate fetishists."

"Billion-Dollar Misstep" and "Catastrophic Mistake"

Conservation organizations sharply criticized the decision. The WWF spoke of a "billion-dollar misstep." According to them, the tunnel endangers a natural paradise, seals off prime farmland, and sabotages the achievement of climate goals. Greenpeace identified a "catastrophic mistake for climate, nature, and people."

The NGO Virus saw Hanke on a collision course with the rule of law, "because the S1 lacks a legal basis due to EU law violations." "In times of climate and budget crises, investing vast amounts of taxpayer money in an access road to a tunnel that may never be approved is reckless," stated Global 2000.

The automobile clubs, on the other hand, welcomed the announced construction. "Every year the Lobau Tunnel is completed later, over 500 million euros in avoidable congestion costs arise on the overloaded Southeast Tangent. Additionally, nearly 75,000 tons of avoidable greenhouse gases are released - more than one and a half times what the entire domestic air traffic produces per year," stated the ÖAMTC. The ARBÖ welcomed the start of the "important road project." After the "ideologically driven delay tactics" of recent years, "common sense has finally prevailed."

Lobau Tunnel - The Long Battle for Vienna's Northeast Bypass

The long history of the Lobau Tunnel as part of the S1 section Schwechat-Süßenbrunn began in 2001. Initially, there was also talk of a sixth Danube bridge, but with the completion of the Strategic Environmental Assessment "SUPer NOW" in 2003, the tunnel became the contested centerpiece of the project. In 2021, it seemed to be history, but as of 2025 with the traffic light coalition, the road project is now being built. Below are details on the key points:

Nature Reserve Lobau - The Lobau is part of the Danube-Auen National Park, an area of about 9,300 hectares between Vienna and Bratislava, whose establishment was celebrated in October 1996 under a 15a agreement. According to information from the City of Vienna, the area, divided into Upper and Lower Lobau, covers about 2,300 hectares and accounts for 24 percent of the total area of the Danube-Auen National Park. The threat to this area, as well as the feared additional traffic burden in the context of climate goals, are among the main arguments of the project's opponents.

Vienna Northeast Bypass - The Lobau Tunnel is a section of the Vienna Outer Ring Expressway S1 and thus part of the "regional ring" around the federal capital. It is designed as a four-lane route 19 kilometers long, intended to connect Schwechat and Süßenbrunn. The 8.2-kilometer-long and approximately 60-meter-deep tunnel is to run under the Danube and the Lobau nature reserve. The southeastern part of the S1 (from the Vösendorf junction to Schwechat) has been in operation since 2006. The "regional ring," the traffic relief for Vienna it is hoped to bring, and the connection to the northeast are the main arguments of the tunnel's proponents.

Construction Time and Costs - The latest estimate of the total costs, according to the "Strategic Assessment" (SP-V) from February 2025, amounts to 2.4 billion euros. In 2018, the Autobahnen- und Schnellstraßen-Finanzierungs-Aktiengesellschaft (Asfinag) estimated 1.9 billion euros, seven years earlier it was 1.8 billion euros.

The information on construction time and completion has been very variable: According to initial plans, the project should have been completed by 2014, in 2006 it was postponed to 2015 by City Councilor for the Environment Ulli Sima (SPÖ), in 2007 the then Minister of Infrastructure Werner Faymann (SPÖ) announced the "new traffic planning" with a traffic release in 2018 - Minister of Transport Doris Bures (SPÖ) followed around 2011 with the announcement of a construction start in 2018 and the release in 2025.

City Street - S1 Link - The Northeast Bypass project also includes two equally controversial connecting roads, namely the S1 Link as a 4.6-kilometer connection between the Raasdorf junction and the Seestadt district. The project, like the bypass, falls under the jurisdiction of the federal government. City Street: From Seestadt, another 3.2-kilometer route runs across Vienna-Donaustadt to connect the Southeast Tangent (A23, Hirschstetten junction) with the S1 Link.

Years-Long EIA for Lobau Tunnel

Environmental Impact Assessment - The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the Lobau Tunnel took a total of around nine years. Project sponsor Asfinag submitted the project in 2009 and assumed that the EIA and further nature conservation and water law procedures could be completed in 2010 and construction could start in 2011. However, it took until 2015 for the first positive decision for the S1 section from Schwechat to Süßenbrunn - including the Lobau Tunnel. Environmental organizations and citizens' initiatives responded with a complaint, and in spring 2018, the Federal Administrative Court gave the green light for construction under certain conditions.

Protests - In response to planned test drilling by Asfinag in the Lobau, environmentalists held a vigil against the Vienna Northeast Bypass under the national park in November 2006. With their camp on the edge of the floodplain, the activists aimed to prevent Asfinag's test drilling. The protests intensified over the years and eventually escalated on February 1, 2022, with the clearing of the protest camp at Seestadt Aspern. The operation, involving a large police presence, resulted in numerous arrests and the use of pepper spray.

Asfinag Construction Program - Asfinag is responsible for the planning, construction, operation, and tolling of the Austrian motorway and expressway network. In July 2021, the Ministry of Climate Protection announced the evaluation of the Asfinag construction program by autumn, and all projects were put on hold. In December, the then Minister Leonore Gewessler (Greens) announced the construction halt. Only the S1 Link could be built. Sharp criticism came, among others, from Vienna's Mayor Michael Ludwig (SPÖ). In September 2022, the road construction program without the tunnel was signed by Finance Minister Magnus Brunner (ÖVP).

Federal Roads Act - The Vienna Outer Ring Expressway (S1) remained part of the Federal Roads Act (BStG 1971). However, the "Strategic Traffic Assessment" (SP-V) for the Lobau Tunnel, initiated by the then Minister of Climate Protection Gewessler in 2022 and published in 2025, recommends its removal. From the perspective of the environmental organization Virus, based on a legal opinion from the University of Innsbruck in 2024, the S1 entry in the BStG should be disregarded due to EU illegality. The same NGO reported at the end of 2024 about an ongoing water law procedure. It became known last March that the Federal Administrative Court (BVwG) had submitted a request for a preliminary ruling to the European Court of Justice regarding the lack of legal basis in the Federal Roads Act. This concerns the unfinished water law procedure.

Transport Minister Peter Hanke (SPÖ) finally gave the green light for the construction of the controversial major project on Thursday. The Vienna Outer Ring Expressway is considered Austria's most thoroughly examined transport project. The route from the Süßenbrunn junction via Raasdorf to the Schwechat junction, including the tunnel solution, is the optimal path, Hanke told journalists.

The Transport Minister emphasized that more than 20 route variants had been examined and numerous reports had been prepared. The tunnel solution is the optimal way to meet the requirements of the living and economic area. "I have used the last few months to precisely work through the project in all relevant aspects," said Hanke. Considering all reports and statements from experts, it becomes clear: "The S1 is necessary to secure the economic location of the entire eastern region and to improve the quality of life for people. We are thus laying the foundation for up to 25,000 jobs, housing for 55,000 people, and relieving the residents of Vienna from truck through traffic," said the Transport Minister. "That is why I have decided today to hand over the S1 to ASFiNAG for implementation."

(APA/Red)

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