The Department of Infrastructure and Territorial Development, through Interbiak, is beginning phase II of the renovation and adaptation of the infrastructure
The connection from/to Bilbao will remain accesible via the tunnel 1 (La Salve-Txorierri ) and the usual road accesses via Enekuri and Santo Domingo.
Bizkaia, January 23, 2026. The Provincial Department of Infrastructure and Territorial Development will proceed with the total closure to traffic of the tunnel 2 from Ugasko (Deusto) to Txorierri of the Artxanda tunnels for six months starting at 23:00h. on Tuesday, February 3.
The reason for this is the start of the second phase of the renovation and adaptation of the infrastructure, which will last for seven months, although the main traffic disruptions will be concentrated in the first six months.
The company Interbiak will be in charge of carrying out the work, which will have an estimated investment of €12.8 million, with the aim of strengthening the safety, efficiency, and sustainability of a strategic infrastructure in order to foster mobility in the metropolitan area.
The project includes improving the waterproofing of the tunnel linning , complete renovation of the ventilation and electrical systems, replacing the current lighting with low-energy LED technology, and adding new security systems: automatic incident detection, gas detectors, and energy management systems using solar panels.
In addition, two pilot innovation projects will be launched during this phase:
• The creation of a BIM as-built digital model of the tunnels, with the aim of providing a complete digital record of the infrastructure.
• The development of a new sustainable drainage system, designed to minimize the impact of runoff water on the surrounding riverbeds.
The Artxanda tunnels, in service since 2002, connect Bilbao with the Txorierri area, the airport, and the Bizkaia Technology Park, and are used daily by an average of 30,000 vehicles. Their renovation is a highly complex technical and logistical project, given their importance in the metropolitan road network.
During the closure of Tunnel 2 (Ugasko–Txorierri), the connection between Bilbao and Txorierri will remain operational via Tunnel 1 (La Salve–Txorierri), as well as the usual accesses at Enekuri and Santo Domingo.
This intervention continues the work begun in 2024 on Tunnel 3, between Ugasko and La Salve, and precedes future work on Tunnel 1, between La Salve and Txorierri, thus completing the comprehensive plan to modernize the three Artxanda tunnels.
