The construction work on the Kramer Tunnel near Garmisch-Partenkirchen, which is to become Bavaria’s longest road tunnel, has been delayed indefinitely. This means that the construction costs, which have recently risen to 365 million euros, will in all likelihood be significantly higher again. The Austrian tunnel construction company BeMo Tunneling, which withdrew all 150 workers from the construction site two and a half weeks ago in the dispute over these costs, terminated the contract completely on Monday. The state building authority in Weilheim and the federal government as the client are initially not helped by the fact that the district court in Munich I does not see many of the company’s additional claims as particularly well-founded.
The 24th civil chamber of the court came to this preliminary assessment in proceedings that the Federal Republic of Germany brought at short notice against the “Kramer Tunnel Working Group” made up of the lead BeMo and its sister company Subterra. The building authority wanted to have additional claims amounting to 46 million euros declared unjustified by means of an injunction. As the presiding judge made clear on Tuesday, the chamber would probably have decided in this sense as well.
However, provisional legal protection is no longer necessary, since BeMo had terminated the contract the day before and could therefore no longer demand any advance payments. Instead, she has to submit a final bill, which will probably also be heard in court. “This issue will play a role in another lawsuit,” predicted the chair.
The tunnel builders from Tyrol started work on the Garmisch bypass in the direction of the Zugspitze and Fernpass at the end of 2019 and have since requested monthly advance payments as agreed. However, because the building authority did not pay all the sums demanded, additional claims totaling 52 million euros had accumulated by July of this year. This would have meant an increase in costs of more than a third, as the original contract value for the shell construction of the tunnel and its entrances alone was 150 million euros.
The building authority raised its estimate of the total costs last year from 264 to 365 million euros, citing the effects of the corona pandemic and the war in Ukraine as the reason. However, the office considers the additional demands collected by BeMo, which include additional costs due to corona measures, further delays on the construction site and unexpected difficulties with loose rock, to be “excessive”. According to Stefan Scheckinger, head of the authorities, it therefore only paid six of the required 52 million euros, leaving a difference of 46 million euros.
The situation for the client is “of course extremely difficult”
However, the fact that the company has now completely terminated the contract in view of the legal dispute throws the Kramer Tunnel project far back and could ultimately result in much more additional costs than those 46 million. The last announced opening at the end of 2025 is unlikely to be sustainable given the cancellation. Whether the shell construction would be completed in the coming year or in 2025 was also the subject of debate among the previous partners. In any case, this must be followed by the expansion with the necessary traffic and safety technology.
If the previous contractual partners do not somehow come to an agreement, the company will now also withdraw its machines after the workers. The building authority would have to re-advertise the remaining shell construction work, first find a company for it and then also reckon with the fact that the asking prices have meanwhile gone up again significantly. However, the authority considers the termination of the contract to be invalid and has rejected it, which could also become the subject of further litigation.
Due to the termination, the situation is “of course extremely difficult for the client,” summarized one of the lawyers for the federal government and the building authority. Instead of clarifying the open claims that the court had in mind, it would now “lead to exorbitant costs and there will probably be a dispute that will last for years”. In addition to the taxpayers, the residents of Garmisch could also suffer. Because after the completion of the Farchant Tunnel in 2000 and the Oberau Tunnel last year, the preparatory work for the Auerberg Tunnel has now begun at the previous bottleneck at the end of the A 95 near Eschenlohe. At the latest when this tunnel is opened, road traffic will be rolling largely unhindered through the Loisachtal towards Garmisch-Partenkirchen and will be backed up there. For Partenkirchen, the building authority is planning a bypass tunnel through the Wank in the direction of Mittenwald and Innsbruck.