Permanent congestion on the A10

Transport Minister wants to postpone traffic jam traffic lights

The traffic avalanche is rolling again.(Bild: Tröster Andreas)

The travel wave is back in full swing: Traffic jams are expected to peak on Sunday. Provincial Councillor Stefan Schnöll is now proposing to move the block clearance before the Ofenauer and Hiefler tunnels to the Salzburg junction. ASFINAG is skeptical. 

The picture is now repeated almost every weekend: On Saturday, the return traffic after the German Whitsun vacations was already in full swing. Today, Sunday, new traffic jam peaks with kilometer-long queues of traffic are expected. A traffic light near Werfen is currently stopping the wave of traffic heading north, while southbound traffic is only stopped just before the Ofenauer and Hiefler tunnels.

Transport Councillor Stefan Schnöll is now proposing to significantly improve this block handling and to turn the traffic lights red in the event of congestion before the first departures in the Salzburg junction area. In a first step, the traffic lights could be installed, followed by a metering system - not at the Walserberg, but at the Salzburg junction - with structural measures. However, only ASFINAG and the federal government can implement the proposal.

ASFINAG reacts to the proposal with skepticism
ASFINAG has reacted skeptically. "Moving the block clearance closer to the Salzburg junction would have a direct impact on the greater Salzburg area and would only shift congestion to other areas," says company spokesperson Petra Mödlhammer. The block clearance in front of the tunnels is primarily for safety reasons.

The entrances and exits in the city areas would not be affected. However, the solution could also slow down traffic coming from Germany on the A1 towards Vienna in the event of extreme traffic volumes.

After the test of patience over the last long weekend, the tunnel construction site is now taking a summer break. Possible ways out of the permanent congestion on the alternative routes must first be carefully examined, it is said.