D197, a road link between Vorarlberg and Tyrol, passes through the Arlberg Pass (altitude 1,793 m/5,882 ft); nearby, a railway tunnel more than 10 km/6 mi long (highest point 1,310 m/4,298 ft) has been in use since 1884.
The old pass route was known since the 14th century in the form of a narrow mule track when people began to trade salt in this region. However, because the Arlberg was very poorly developed, for centuries people avoided the route and took detours over the Fern Pass or Immenstadt for trading. The development of the textile industry and of the postal service, however, led to the road's being surfaced in 1824.
With the rise of motor traffic in the 20th century, however, this became inadequate. It was decided that a 14 km long Arlberg Road Tunnel would be built between Langen and St. Anton. On July 5, 1974 the work began and the passage was opened to traffic on December 1, 1978.
The tunnel has a toll; however, the old road over the pass is toll-free. A peculiarity of the tunnel is that it actually consists of two tunnels. On the Tyrolian side it is built over the "Rosanna Gorge" before the actual massif rises up in the direction of Vorarlberg over the tunnel.
