OHL agrees with the Goverment of Gibraltar to complete the works in the airport access tunnel

OHL and the Government of Gibraltar have reached an agreement to complete the works in the airport access tunnel, a project that will alleviate congested traffic in the area, improving the quality of life of Gibraltar’s residents and visitors. 

Thanks to the consensus reached with the current Government of Gibraltar, OHL will construct a new communication road to access the airport, avoiding the current route that crosses the runway. 

The consensus reached by the Government of Gibraltar and OHL has put an end to the parties’ differences. Further to this new willingness to cooperate manifested by the Government of Gibraltar, OHL has declared its wish to focus its effort and resources on successful completion of the project, scheduled for late 2018, always meeting the highest standards. 

The Government of Gibraltar awarded this project to OHL in late 2008 for a total of 30.23 million GBP (35.78 million euros); the project was halted after a long process and is now being recommenced.

Measures foreseen

OHL will design and construct a road 1.24 km long, with two lanes in each direction, connecting the Spanish border control station with Devil’s Tower Road, whilst also providing access to the Eastern Beach Road and Catalan Road. 

The road will circumvent the airport of Gibraltar and part of its outline will be executed through a tunnel 350 m long, under head 27 of the runway. Alongside this tunnel, another one will be built for cyclists and pedestrians. Both tunnels will be fitted with electrical, mechanical and road safety facilities, as well as signaling and drainage. 

The work also includes construction of a building to host the future control and exploitation center of the tunnel facilities, a deposit area for storage, loading and downloading of aircraft fuel, as well as the execution of a new system to approach head 27 of the runway of the airport of Gibraltar.