A8 Leissigen tunnel

The Leissigen tunnel on the A8 along the left shore of the Lake of Thun is currently being equipped with a new safety gallery. Construction commenced in 2018 and will be completed in 2022. Some of the tunnel’s operating and safety systems had already been upgraded in earlier projects.

In the past few years, the safety systems of the Leissigen tunnel have been renovated and improved in various projects. In 2014, for example, the operating and safety systems were upgraded in several stages.

The focus now is on optimising the situation with respect to escape routes: the Leissigen tunnel is to be equipped with a safety gallery. At present, apart from the tunnel portals, the only escape route is via a gallery that runs from the operating centre in the middle of the tunnel to the village of Leissigen. In accordance with the latest safety requirements, however, additional escape options have to be created. A safety gallery has been under construction since 2018 that will lead alongside the tunnel on the mountain side at a distance of around 25 metres from the tunnel. In future, cross connections will lead from the main tunnel tube to the safety gallery at intervals of 250 metres.

The safety gallery will run from east to west. The breakthrough of the safety gallery took place in May 2020, followed by the cross connections in summer 2020. Since then, work in the inside of the gallery is in progress. The construction of the safety gallery is scheduled for completion by approximately 2022.

Details

• Handover of the Leissigen tunnel to traffic: 23 June 1994
• Length: 2,100 metres
• Duration of construction of the emergency gallery: 2018 to 2022
• Costs for construction of the emergency gallery: Approx. 42 million Swiss francs