Dress rehearsals begin due to the traffic chaos at Brenner

The key points

• The alarm from Confcommercio Trentino
• Matter of national interest

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Checks begin tomorrow, Wednesday 3 April to Ponte Luegon the Austrian side of the Autobahn Brenner, in view of the reconstruction of the viaduct, scheduled for next year. As far as traffic is concerned, it is a sort of general rehearsal for chaos expected starting from spring 2025. And l 3 to 12 April in fact you will travel on a single lane south direction and from 10th to 30th April instead on a single lane to the north. There are fears of slowdowns and queues. Even during the renovation works in every direction it will be available a single lane.

For this reason, hauliers ask for the duration of the works a suspension of the ban on night-time transit for trucks along the Brenner corridor. The Lueg bridge, built 55 years ago, with its 1,804 meters is the longest viaduct on the Austrian section of the Brenner motorway. The costs of the intervention amount to approximately 300 million euros. The bridge is located approx 6 kilometers from the border with Italy.

The alarm from Confcommercio Trentino

In recent weeks Confcommercio Trentino had organized a press conference to raise awareness of public opinion and institutions on this new emergency arriving along the Alpine axis of Brenner, tamong the main connecting arteries between Italy and Europe and strategic infrastructure for our exports.

Along the Brenner corridor the movement of heavy vehicles is already severely hindered by the bans imposed by Austria and against which the Italian government has lodged an appeal with the European Court of Justice.

Confcommercio Trentino explains: «The closure of the Lueg Bridge for modernization works, scheduled for two years starting from 2025, represents a serious threat to the economy of Trentino and, more generally, to the entire economy linked to the Brenner crossing. The likely kilometre-long queues and narrowing of the road caused by the works along the bridge will have a negative impact on traffic, with repercussions on various economic sectors, including road haulage, wholesale and retail trade, tourism, industry and craftsmanship”.