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33-528: Construction began in 1962, and the tunnel was opened in 1967. The term "Felbertauern" by itself often is used to include the approach roads on both ends, which were built as the same time as the tunnel. Unlike most other tunnels in the Alps, the Felbertauern Tunnel has only one tube. The daily traffic through the tunnel is approximately 4,000 vehicles per day, with about 7% trucks. Bicycles are not allowed in

66-495: A 36 km long route - including a 5,313 m long tunnel and 31 km of approach roads. After the official opening, major portions of the approach roads were completed. Including, for example, the bypass in Mittersill, and converting temporary stretches of the roads into 3-lane roads. Millions of euros were spent on the construction of avalanche protection structures. The Felbertauern Tunnel is owned by Felbertauernstraßen-AG, which in turn

99-616: A Vignette), Tauern Road Tunnel , Karawanks Tunnel , Bosruck Tunnel and the Gleinalm Tunnel . The collection of these special tolls is completed by single tickets or season tickets which vary in usage (such as a year, month, with route combinations and different discounts for commuters, disabled people and residents), or even tickets for specific roads and multiple journeys. Vehicles which have blue lights, different national and international services, such as Bundesheer (the Austrian Army) and

132-514: A credit card. Cash fines from €150 to €1,500 are charged to drivers without a valid vignette. The vignette sticker was replaced by e-vignette on 1 January 2019, and an e-toll system is to be introduced in August 2019 for vehicles heavier than 3.5 tonnes. The official website for buying Bulgarian e-vignettes is bgtoll.bg . Vignettes are required for the use of motorways and expressways by all vehicles of up to 3.5 tonnes. Cash fines for not displaying

165-531: A credit card. Drivers without a valid vignette are fined with €100 or more. The fines are dispensed by automatic systems that scan the numberplate of the car when it exits a city. The official website for buying Romanian vignettes is roviniete.ro . Vignettes are obligatory for all vehicles of up to 3.5 tonnes, driving on Slovak motorways . Drivers without a valid vignette are charged with cash fines between €100 and €500. Vignettes for heavier vehicles were replaced with distance-based electronic toll collection using

198-538: A distance-based tax rate on all types of roads, called the performance-related heavy vehicle charge  [ de ; fr ] . Switzerland only offers a vignette valid for a year (from December of the preceding year to the January of the following year) at CHF 40 (€41.92). Because of this, its vignette is the most expensive in Europe for transiting and visiting passenger cars. Other countries offer short-term vignettes that make

231-514: A single-entry tax and a distance-based charge. Ecological-tax vignettes were abolished on 31 December 2011. Driving on public roads is generally toll-free, with the exception of passing through certain tunnels and bridges. With the exception of motorcycles, vignettes are required for all vehicles driving on all national roads and motorways . Physical vignettes have been replaced with electronic ones since 1 October 2010. They can be obtained at most gas stations, border crossings, or online using

264-512: A sticker. All travelers using motorways and expressways are required to purchase an annual vignette. Vignettes can be obtained in and outside of Switzerland in bordering countries at gas stations and labeled points. Use of motorway networks without a valid vignette is an offense against the Public Highways Act, and is punishable with cash fines of CHF 200, in addition to the obligatory purchase of an annual vignette. Heavier vehicles use

297-526: A tax called a Vignette , which has to be stuck permanently to the vehicle, to the general high-ranking street network's usage in the amount of 440 million euros (£311 million) and also 170 million euros (£120 million) of special tolls for more expensive high maintenance roads, from west to east: Arlberg Road Tunnel , the Brennerautobahn (from Innsbruck to Modena, Italy, and only the A13 motorway may be used without

330-597: A valid and properly affixed vignette. Additional tolls are usually levied for passing through certain motorway tunnels and bridges. In Austria a tunnel or bridge subject to a special toll ( de:Sondermautstrecke ) is in theory free of the vignette obligation, but in practice this is usually a moot point as access to many of them is via motorway only. The Eurovignette Directive introduced in the European Union in 1993 governs road tolls for trucks of minimum 12 metric tonnes . An international agreement, based on Article 8 of

363-436: A valid vignette affixed on a car's windshield range from €80 to €200. Vignettes for heavier vehicles were replaced with electronic toll collection in 2007. By 1 January 2021, the vignette stickers were replaced by digital vignettes. The official website for buying Czech electronic vignettes is edalnice.cz/ . Motorways and expressways are a toll-free road network for all lighter vehicles. The Eurovignette system for trucks

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396-488: A valid vignette are charged with cash fines between €50 and €200. The official website for buying Hungarian e-vignettes is nemzetiutdij.hu . Vignettes are obligatory for personal motor vehicles registered abroad, driving on public roads , and are available for purchase at border customs posts and offices. Foreign drivers without a valid vignette are charged with cash fines between €125 and €375. Heavier vehicles use existing tax rates, with commercial vehicle drivers paying

429-543: Is owned 62% by Austria, and the remaining 38% is split between the state of Tyrol (37%) and the Tyrolean municipalities (1%). The tunnel is not an autobahn (hence, is not operated by ASFINAG ). ASFINAG The ASFINAG (short for "Autobahnen- und Schnellstraßen-Finanzierungs-Aktiengesellschaft" which is German for "Autobahn and highway financing stock corporation") is an Austrian publicly owned corporation which plans, finances, builds, maintains and collects tolls for

462-628: The Austrian autobahns . The ASFINAG is fully owned by the Austrian government under the responsibility of the Federal Ministry for Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology (BMK). ASFINAG was founded on 11 September 1982. In 1997 the company were awarded a new contract whereby more tasks were given to them by the Government. ASFINAG enforces legislative tolls commissioned by

495-596: The Czech Republic , Hungary , Moldova , Romania , Slovakia , Slovenia and Switzerland . In most of these countries a small, coloured sticker is affixed to a vehicle windscreen , but in Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia and since 2021 in Slovenia these have been superseded by electronic vignettes. In Moldova, vignettes are required for the use of any road, while in Bulgaria and Romania they are required for

528-707: The Eurovignette Directive, signed in 1994 by Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands established a common system of vignettes within the Eurovignette framework. Sweden signed a protocol to accede to the agreement in 1997. Germany denounced the agreement in 2017, while Belgium denounced it in 2019. Since 1997, vignettes are required for all vehicles of up to 3.5 tonnes, driving on motorways and expressways (prefixed with letters A and S) under federal administration . Vignettes are overseen by

561-555: The High Middle Ages. This was certainly only the case after the German settlement and thus not before the 9th century – the pass and the valley have an Old High German name (from felwa = pasture). This name was first borne by a local noble family, the Lords of Felben, who owned a mighty residential tower in Mittersill and thus controlled the path early on. From 1814 onwards, the unification of

594-685: The Justizwache (a section of the Ministry of Justice in Austria) are permanently exempt from the special tolls. (The mountain roads through the Felbertauern Tunnel and over the Grossglockner High Alpine Road are tolled by private parties.) In 2015, ASFINAG alone will invest from the money it has collected in tolls, 500 million euros (£353 million) on the building of new roads, 485 million euros (£343 million) for maintaining existing roads, finance

627-604: The Prossegg Gorge, which is considered the forerunner of the Felbertauern Road. Since 1 April 1948, Iseltal Straße has been part of the network of federal highways in Austria. In 1962 a five-year project began to build a 2-lane paved road and a tunnel, replacing the rudimentary road over the pass. In 1967, this new crossing of the Alps was completed, with an official opening on 25 June. The construction took 5 years, and included

660-597: The compulsory road tax , based on a period of time the vehicle may use the road, instead of road tolls that are based on distance travelled. Vignettes are currently used in several European countries. The term originated in France in the 1950s, although vignettes there were not linked to motorway use and no longer exist; it is now used throughout Central Europe , as well as in Italy ( vignetta ). Vignettes are used in Austria , Bulgaria ,

693-592: The country's motorways. Vignettes can usually be obtained at border crossings , gas stations and other outlets. Improperly used or lost vignettes are usually not refunded. Vignette stickers are usually constructed in such a way that detaching and re-attaching them is impossible without destruction, ensuring that they cannot be used on more than one vehicle. Road traffic is often monitored by roadside cameras , and vignettes are verified by state officials, such as border guards and national police. Hefty cash fines are often charged to travelers using public roads without

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726-626: The court of Matrei, which originally belonged to the Principality of Salzburg, with Tyrol diminished the importance of the Felbertauern. Subsequently, many plans and ideas were pursued to restore the Felbertauern to its former importance, including the planning of a railway line or a Großvenediger High Alpine Road. Between 1910 and 1912, the owner of Weißenstein Castle in Matrei had a drivable path built through

759-603: The government. ASFINAG has the formal Usufruct /right of properties and facilities of the highly ranked street network, which still belongs to the government. ASFINAG does not receive any money from the state's budget, but pays a dividend to the Republic of Austria . For 2015, ASFINAG is expecting 1.25 billion euros (£885 Million) from tolls, which are paid by lorries and buses depending on the number of axles and distance travelled on motorways based on tachographs . Cars (up to 3.5 t max. permitted total weight) and motorbikes contribute

792-743: The police and toll-sheriff employees of the federal motorway administration. A €240 fine with an additional obligatory payment of a substitute toll are charged to travelers without a valid vignette, and unpaid fines lead to penalties between €300 and €3,000. Furthermore, the vehicle may be confiscated from foreigners to guarantee payment of the penalty. Additional tolls are charged for certain motorway sections where tollgates and video tolling systems are installed. Several sections require drivers to buy electronic toll cards. Vignettes for vehicles of over 3.5 tonnes were replaced with electronic distance-based highway-toll GO-Boxes on 1 January 2004. Since 2019, electronic vignettes have been made available in addition to

825-668: The remote-operated toll-box in force since 2010. Special arrangements are to be sought by the motorbike riders. From 1 January 2016 Slovak vignettes are purchased and checked electronically via eZnamka.sk without a sticker. Vignettes are required for all vehicles of up to 3.5 tonnes, driving on Slovenian motorways as of 1 July 2008. Drivers without a valid vignette are charged with cash fines between €300 and €800. On 1.4.2018, Slovenia implemented an electronic tolling of vehicles whose maximum permissible weight exceeds 3.5 tonnes. From 1 December 2021 Slovenian vignettes are purchased and checked electronically via evinjeta.dars.si without

858-427: The sticker are charged with a €100 fine. Vignettes are required for all vehicles on motorways and expressways . Physical toll stickers were replaced with electronic vignettes and video tolling on 1 January 2008, the only physical item the purchaser receives is a control coupon. Motorway usage entitlement is verified by roadside cameras based on license plate numbers, and drivers of vehicles up to 3.5 tonnes without

891-445: The toll collection along with the buying Vignettes from places that sell tobacco and pay back their 11.5 billion euro high (£8.2 billion) debt in 20 years time. Traffic experts are recommending that instead of time tolls they should collect a higher mineral oil tax because frequent usage, exhaust fumes and also street wear and tear of heavy vehicles, such as SUVs as opposed to city cars can be presented more appropriately. The company

924-477: The traditional stickers. The official website for buying Austrian digital vignettes is shop.asfinag.at . Vignettes are required for all (except motorcycles) vehicles driving on all public roads , with the exception of streets in cities, towns and villages. Vignettes are usually valid from the time they are purchased, while some types can be marked to start from a future date. They can be obtained in Bulgaria at most gas stations, at border crossings, or online using

957-529: The tribes settling on both sides of the main ridge of the Alps date back to the 2nd millennium BC. Celts, Romans and Carolingians used this crossing. The movement of goods over the Felbertauern was particularly active in the Middle Ages. The transport of goods by horses and mules was an important factor at that time. After a long break in the early Middle Ages, the Felber Tauern seems to have been used again from

990-518: The tunnel, but a bicycle transport service is available. The total length of the Felbertauern Tunnel is 5,282 meters (5.2 km), making it one of the eleven longest tunnels in Austria. The Felbertauern Pass is at an altitude of 2,481 meters (2.4 km). It is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Traffic in both directions must pay a toll at the toll booth at the southern portal. The approach roads are 7.5m wide. The pass, also known as Felbertauern, has been in use for centuries. The first contacts between

1023-419: The use of any road outside urban areas. In the other countries, vignettes are required only for the use of motorways and expressways . Prices for an annual vignette for passenger cars range from €30 to €150, depending on country. In all countries except Switzerland, short-period vignettes are sold for visiting or transiting vehicles. In Switzerland, visiting foreign motorists must buy an annual vignette to use

Felbertauern Tunnel - Misplaced Pages Continue

1056-559: Was abolished in August 2003. A distance-based toll charge was introduced from 1 January 2005 for vehicles of over 12 tonnes, operated by the Toll Collect company. As of 1 March 2007, all drivers are required to purchase an emission sticker when passing through low-emission zones in several cities and municipalities. Certain "green zones" have completely disallowed entrance to vehicles with higher particle emissions ("yellow" and "red" groups). Travellers passing through these areas without

1089-511: Was founded on 11 September 1982. As of this date, the credit operations were managed centrally for all project companies in Austria. In 1992 ÖSAG (Österreichische Autobahnen und Schnellstraßen AG) and ASG (Alpenstraßen AG) were founded, a merger of the six operating motorway companies in Austria to the ASG in the west, ÖSAG to the rest of Austria. Vignette (road tax) Vignette is a form of road pricing imposed on vehicles, usually in addition to

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