Funding rejection:

Cycle bridge over the Rhine delayed

The plan for a cross-border cycle bridge between Vorarlberg and Switzerland has been put on hold for the time being. The reason is a rejection of funding by the federal government in Vienna. Nevertheless, the project is to be realized.  

The construction of a cycle and pedestrian bridge from Lustenau over the Rhine into Switzerland is likely to be delayed by two years. This was announced by Lustenau's mayor Kurt Fischer (ÖVP). The reason for this is the suspension of federal funding, which also means that the state funding will no longer be available for the time being, he said. The 13.4 million euro project is being financed jointly with Switzerland. Construction was scheduled to begin in fall 2025.

"The lack of Austrian funding now makes it necessary to adjust the timetable," explained Fischer in a press release, "The federal funding from Vienna has been suspended. However, this is a prerequisite for the state of Vorarlberg to support the project financially. For this reason, the state of Vorarlberg has now also withdrawn its funding commitment." The bridge around 650 meters south of the Au (St. Gallen) - Lustenau border crossing is a central part of the border-connecting mobility strategy of the "4th Rhine Valley Agglomeration Programme". The aim is to further increase bicycle traffic, with almost 2,000 cyclists already passing through the Au and Widnau border crossings every day.

Money from Switzerland
The "Rhine Valley Agglomeration", consisting of the state of Vorarlberg, the canton of St. Gallen and a total of 23 municipalities on both sides of the Rhine, will receive co-financing from the Swiss parliament until 2028 for measures in settlement and landscape development, which will also be used across the border. Eight million euros of the 24 million euros of Swiss federal funding that will flow into the region will be used in Vorarlberg.

2.4 million Swiss francs (2.51 million euros) are to come from the Swiss government for the bridge. These are secured despite the delay - even if the new schedule must now be adhered to, otherwise the time window for the Agglo program will close. The pledges for the cantonal funds and those of the two local municipalities have also been kept, according to Fischer, who expressed his understanding for the "painful" delay in view of the budgetary situation in the APA interview.

70 percent funding
The state of Vorarlberg, the canton of St. Gallen and the Swiss federal government are the most important sponsors for the project; the municipalities of Lustenau and Au would not be able to finance it alone. They each bear half of the costs for planning, building and maintaining the bridge. The state of Vorarlberg is funding 70 percent of the costs on the Austrian side.

It was only in November 2024 that the people of Au on the other side of the Rhine approved the construction loan in a vote and the project was about to be awarded. The mayor did not believe that the bridge could now be "buried" in general. All partners are still convinced of the "lighthouse project", including the state of Vorarlberg. They are committed to its rapid realization.