rather than road, and the 1998 Traffic Transfer Act, which sets an ideal maximum number of trucks crossing the Alps by road. Meeting this goal requires a fully functional NRLA rail link. The original plans for the NRLA were to construct only one main base tunnel, but regional disputes prevented a choice between the two options and threatened to jeopardize the entire project. The Swiss Federal Council therefore decided in 1995 to build two base tunnels (Gotthard and Lötschberg) simultaneously. In 1998, the total projected cost of the NRLA project was CHF 12.189 billion; in December 2015, the final cost was projected to be CHF 17.900 billion. The projected cost of its centerpiece, the Gotthard Base Tunnel, was CHF 6.323 billion in 1998; in December 2015, the tunnel's cost was an estimated CHF 9.560 billion. The 1998 cost of the Lötschberg axis was an estimated CHF 3.214 billion; in December 2015, it was an estimated CHF 4.237 billion. Swiss voters approved the NRLA project on 27 September 1992, with 63.6% support. Two years later on 20 February 1994, the Swiss populace unexpectedly also accepted with 51.9% support the Alps protecting initiative, a federal popular initiative initiated by just a few private citizens. This was despite neither the Federal Council nor the two parliamentary chambers endorsing the initiative, and their not even considering providing a counterproposal to the populace. Another mandatory referendum was held on 19 November 1998 about the creation of funds for four major public-transport projects (, , ), funding them with time-limited CHF 30 billion fund of which the NRLA would receive 13.6 billion. Another major project was the Bahn 2000 project regarding the modernization of the railways. The Federal Council's request was approved with 63.5% support. The fund is replenished primarily by the previously mentioned kilometre-based tax on heavy-goods vehicles (HVF) and partially by taxes on gasoline originally intended for road-building, a small fraction of the VAT revenues, and funds from the general budget of the Swiss Confederation. The bilateral agreements with the EU containing the 40-tonne limit and the implementation of the HVF were finally accepted by the Swiss populace on 21 May 2000 with 67.2% support in a federal optional referendum initiated by opposing political parties. Gotthard axis The Gotthard axis consists of the Gotthard Base Tunnel (GBT), the partially operational Zimmerberg Base Tunnel, the Ceneri Base Tunnel (CBT), and surface connections. It was built