Construction phase brings weekday closures on Reschen Road

Weekday daytime closures and diversions will affect the B180 Reschen Road between Pfunds and Nauders from August 31 to November 27 as construction of the 400-metre Kanzelgalerie rockfall protection gallery enters its final main phase, ORF Tirol reported Friday.

The closures will apply from Monday to Thursday between 7.30am and 6pm and on Fridays from 7.30am to 2pm. Outside those hours and at weekends, traffic will pass through the construction zone in a single lane, controlled by traffic lights or, when necessary, a traffic officer.

During the closures, traffic will be diverted via the B185 Martinsbrucker Straße and the B184 Engadiner Straße in Switzerland.

Work in the high-altitude rock zone

The next phase will include rock stabilisation, road construction and filling works. Planned measures include securing the rock peak about 100 metres above the gallery’s northern portal, a task expected to take around six weeks.

Drainage and road construction will also continue along an 800-metre stretch. Further work includes removing the northern access ramp and parts of the current diversion road, as well as constructing part of the southern retaining wall in the valley, which will extend for about 20 metres.

About 10,000 cubic metres of glass foam aggregate mixed with soil will be used to cover the gallery. A further 22,000 cubic metres of fill material will then be added.

Gregor Wieland, head of Tyrol’s bridges and tunnel construction department, said the daytime closures would allow the work to be carried out safely and efficiently in concentrated operations.

Final phase planned for 2027

A further phase will be required in 2027 to remove the remaining parts of the diversion road and complete the covering of the gallery. The state expects traffic lights or speed restrictions to be sufficient for that work, without further daytime closures.

The 40-million-euro project remains on schedule, according to Tyrol’s deputy governor and roads minister, Josef Geisler of the Austrian People’s Party. Construction began in September 2024.

The Kanzelgalerie is being built as a reinforced-concrete gallery requiring 2,300 tonnes of reinforcing steel and 16,000 cubic metres of concrete. Additional rock protection, including rock netting and sprayed concrete, is being installed across 10,000 square metres. The Reschen Road has repeatedly been affected by serious rockfalls.