No new construction until 2027

Middle spotted woodpecker and bat delay bridge construction

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Thomas Hochebner, Werner Kerschbaummayr)

The planned new construction of the Danube bridge in Mauthausen will not be able to be implemented by 2027 due to new nature conservation regulations. Instead, Plan B is now being activated - the replacement of the supporting structure of the existing bridge to ensure road safety.

As is well known, the peregrine falcon had the last word on the Danube Valley Bridge in Linz; in Mauthausen, it is now the middle spotted woodpecker and the bat that are putting a spanner in the works of construction machinery and cranes. Who would have thought that animals could have so much influence on bridge construction projects? The never-ending story continues ...

EIA procedure 2022 submitted
Looking back: Not far from the ageing existing bridge, a new Danube crossing is to be built by 2027. The project was submitted for the EIA procedure in July 2022. Almost exactly one year ago, the responsible authorities issued the positive decision.

Positive decision was questioned
However, its legal validity was called into question and has since been a case for the Federal Administrative Court. The latter has now seen fit to postpone the appeal proceedings in order to request further documents. In detail, this means that the habitat of the middle spotted woodpecker must be mapped again. In addition, the tree cavity and crevice roosts for bats must be quantified and their flight routes surveyed.

New building off the table until 2027
A decision on the new building will now be made in the fall at the earliest. This means that it will definitely not be possible to build it before the end of the technical service life of the existing bridge. Plan B is now in place, which involves replacing the structure of the existing bridge before a new bridge is completed.

This is not about the important protection of individual animal species, but about the targeted and abusive exploitation of the legal system.

Günther Steinkellner, FP-Mobilitätslandesrat

Citizens' initiative calls for the end of the project
While the citizens' initiative "Verkehr 4.0" is calling for the project to be terminated, WKOÖ President Doris Hummer is disappointed: "The years of delay are an affront to 22,000 commuters, 65,600 employees and 13,500 businesses." LR Günther Steinkellner: "Our goal of building a safe and efficient transport link for the future remains unchanged."