Enduring transport infrastructure

A major transit road linking Innsbruck and the Italian city of Modena, the 36-kilometre Brenner Highway is one of Europe’s most heavily used roads. The first section was opened for Innsbruck 1964, and the highway was completed in 1971. At Innsbruck 1976, it helped 1.5 million spectators access the city and competition venues. Due for completion in 2025, the 55km Brenner Base Tunnel will reduce congestion on the highway by shifting freight traffic from road to rail. It will also alleviate some of the highway’s environmental impacts.

The improvements made for Innsbruck’s first Olympic Winter Games in 1964 were carefully planned. As a result, no major road building was needed for the city’s second Games, with only some renovation and upgrading work required. Created with the long-term development of the city in mind, Innsbruck’s transport infrastructure proved efficient during Games time. Since the Games, the local transport system has increased accessibility and mobility in the region and helped attract businesses, which in turn has generated jobs. 

Built for the 1976 Games, the Olympiabahn funicular serves the ski resort of Axamer Lizum, where all the Alpine skiing events were held, except the men’s downhill. It continues to ferry skiers from the bottom of the resort to the top, in just five minutes. Its construction has been crucial to the development of Axamer Lizum, which lies 19 kilometres outside Innsbruck.

A small but thriving resort, Axamer Lizum was built specifically for the 1964 Games and offers skiers and snowboarders consistently good conditions on its 40km of marked pistes. Some of them are named after the races they hosted at both Olympic Winter Games, including the women’s downhill course. Axamer Lizum is also the training centre for the Tirolean Ski Instructors’ Association, which represents more than 300 Tirolean ski schools and 7,000 ski and snow sport instructors.