A paved road to Flexen Pass in the Austrian Alps

Flexen Pass is a high mountain pass at an elevation of 1.781m (5,843ft) above the sea level, located in the westernmost Austrian state of Vorarlberg.

Can you drive to Flexen Pass in Austria?

The road to the summit is totally paved. It’s called Road 198 (Lechtal Strasse). The road leads to Arlberg Pass. Some hundred meters to the south of the pass summit the road disappears into a very old avalanche tunnel, which covers the road almost the rest of the distance to the Arlberg pass exit. The 1.550m long tunnel is called Flexengalerie. The road in that avalanche tunnel is in awful condition and the ceiling of the tunnel is made out of old oak wood. The traffic is single-lane and is managed with a traffic light system. Approximately 500m behind the end of the avalanche tunnel, you reach the exit to the Arlberg pass road.

How long is the road to Flexen Pass in Austria?

The pass is 15.6 km (9.69 miles) long, running north-south from Warth to Stuben am Arlberg. To drive the road without stopping will take most people between 25 and 30 minutes. The road to the summit is pretty steep, hitting a 10% of maximum gradient through some of the ramps. At the summit is a parking lot and a small snack bar.

Is Flexen Pass in the Austrian Alps open?

Set high in the Austrian Alps, access to the pass is typically open all year round, with the occasional closure in winters due to dangerous weather conditions, since 1936. The road was opened to traffic in 1909 built in just two years by Johann Bertolini and his team.