Vienna, March 2022. Fellner Wratzfeld & Partner (fwp) has been advising the State of Vorarlberg and the City of Feldkirch in approval proceedings for the Feldkirch city tunnel. 

As part of the said consultancy activities an application for approval under the Austrian Environmental Impact Assessment Act [UVP-Gesetz] was submitted jointly by the State of Vorarlberg, the City of Feldkirch and Vorarlberger Energienetz AG, in which the impact of this huge road construction project on the environment was assessed. The assessment was positive and the Federal Administrative Court [Bundesverwaltungsgericht] confirmed the EIA decision. This meant that the construction measures for this once-in-a-generation project were allowed to begin.

Preparation and implementation of such infrastructure projects for which an EIA is mandatory is one of the core competences of fwp. Over the last few years fwp partner Michael Hecht and fwp attorney Josef Peer have been in charge of providing legal support for all aspects of this project.

After a tug-of-war that lasted for many years the Feldkirch city tunnel cleared its final Administrative Court hurdle at the end of last week. The recent decision of Austria's Supreme Administrative Court [Verwaltungsgerichtshof] has given the green light for construction of the main tunnel. Various preparatory measures such as rerouting roads, erecting noise barriers, digging exploratory tunnels and installing utility lines are already in the implementation phase. Planning for the main tunnel with a central roundabout in the mountain has been in full progress for quite some time already. According to the current project schedule construction of the main tunnel is planned to begin in late 2023/early 2024.

The forecast sustainable reduction in road traffic and emissions should also have a positive impact on the future development of the city and its suburbs. In future more traffic will flow along the thoroughfares instead of through residential areas. That, in turn, means more space for sustainable mobility and a higher quality of life for local residents.

"We are pleased to have been able to support the State of Vorarlberg and the City of Feldkirch in this huge project" explain fwp Partner Michael Hecht and fwp attorney Josef Peer, who congratulate their client on this mammoth project.

"We thank Michael Hecht and Josef Peer for their great work and their legal expertise in this once-in-a-generation project", says a proud Bernhard Braza, project manager for the Feldkirch city tunnel.