New pass road?

Plöckenpass, culture and co.: what the government is planning

Good mood after the government meeting on Tuesday: Deputy Governor Martin Gruber (ÖVP), Governor Peter Kaiser (SPÖ) and Daniel Fellner (SPÖ)

(Bild: Clara Milena Steiner)

What will happen to the Plöckenpass road after the massive rockslide, how much money the government is investing in culture and why the wolf is now getting its own law.

Governor Peter Kaiser (SPÖ) describes the round table on the Plöckenpass, which took place on Monday, as "objective and competent". His government colleague Deputy Governor and Road Construction Officer Martin Gruber (ÖVP) is also satisfied: "A pleasant discussion with entrepreneurs from the market town of Kötschach-Mauthen."

As a reminder: since a rockfall in December last year (see video below), the important Plöckenpass road has been impassable and closed. Since then, several citizens' initiatives and associations have been calling for the pass road to be restored quickly or for an emergency solution in the form of a separate route.

The goal is a joint approach, emphasized the governor on Tuesday. A "short-term emergency road, but also a long-term solution" were discussed at the round table. According to Gruber, "the technical basis for reopening the pass road" was also discussed - as well as the timetable, which the Italian side should adhere to.

Construction work to start in May
Whether this succeeds also depends on the weather: "It is a major challenge to plan this construction project - it involves renovation work on the galleries and a major safety risk during the construction work." The ball is now in the Friuli region's court, which still has to discuss the financing of the project with the road operator ANAS - effectively the Italian Asfinag. "Construction work will start in May and the road should be open to traffic again by the end of the year," says Gruber.

His takeaway from Kötschach-Mauthen: "There is great concern on both sides of the border. People depend on the passability of this road for tourism, business and work. A solution must therefore be found as quickly as possible."

Is there a plan B?
An emergency solution has been under discussion since Gruber met with his Italian colleague Cristina Amirante and the regional president of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Massimiliano Fedriga. Gruber comments: "I was only told that this option is not currently available."

This is because the emergency route would lead through an area at risk of collapse and construction would take the same amount of time as restoring the actual pass road. Nevertheless, there is a lot of talk about it, especially in Italy, "which may be due to the local council election campaign in Friuli," explains Gruber.

The eventful history of the Plöckenpass road

• The Plöcken Pass - Passo di Monte Croce Carnico in Italian - has seen a lot: the Romans built the western branch of the Via Julia Augusta over the pass, the road was used extensively in the Middle Ages, and by the end of the 19th century the road had been widened to such an extent that it could be used by carriages and larger wagons .
• During the First World War, the Plöcken Pass became a theater of war on the Austro-Italian front, after which this border was impassable. Soon after the Second World War, plans for a tunnel were drawn up and since the 1980s at the latest, there have been citizens' initiatives to oppose it.
• At the beginning of December 2023, a massive rockslide destroyed parts of the B110 Plöckenpass road and it has been impassable ever since.

Kaiser emphasizes that it has struck him as "extremely positive" that the two neighbouring regions in Austria and Italy are "almost merging" - and this "in a former war zone where fighting took place 110 years ago". The working group that has been set up will now look for a realistic solution and go through all the options.

FPÖ chairman Erwin Angerer is calling for short-term (financial) aid and a long-term tunnel solution: "If you help quickly, you help twice." Team Carinthia leader Gerhard Köfer's proposal to adopt an aid package for the affected Gailtal valley at the government meeting was not accepted by the government. He wants to campaign for this in parliament

Millions for culture
A "very comprehensive" cultural package pleases Kaiser, who is also the head of cultural affairs: the founding declaration of the Carinthian Cultural Foundation (KKS) has been amended. This is an "expansion of the foundation's purpose to ensure that support can be provided to artists in emergency and exceptional situations", explains Kaiser, echoing the work grants from the time of the pandemic.

The Carinthia Film Commission (CFC) and the Klagenfurt City Theater can look forward to financial injections. A total of 500,000 euros from the culture and tourism departments will flow into the CFC; the state's financial contribution to the municipal theater, which as a "multi-genre theater delivers an excellent performance in the German-speaking world and beyond" and is "essential for Carinthia as a cultural region", will be increased. This means an increase in funding of around 1.39 million euros per season.

Change in the law for the wolf
The review phase of the first Carinthian Alpine Pasture and Grazing Land Protection Act was completed before Easter and was unanimously approved on Tuesday: "Good news for the Carinthian Alpine pasture economy," Gruber is pleased to report.

The topic of wolves is a perennial issue in Carinthia.

(Bild: THOMAS KIENZLE)

"Firstly, this law allows us to designate protected areas for alpine pastures," says the responsible officer, adding that it will now be possible to take action against wolves more quickly: "Previously, a certain number of livestock had to be killed in order to hunt a wolf - now it's possible from the first kill."