"Whoever sows roads ..."

SPÖ pushes through Lobautunnel: Now the Greens are seeing red

The Lobau Tunnel will now be built after all: Green MEP Lena Schilling (left) and former minister Leonore Gewessler sharply criticize the SPÖ's approach.(Bild: Krone KREATIV/APA (2), Martin Jöchl)

The announcement by Transport Minister Peter Hanke (SPÖ) that the Lobau Tunnel will be built after all has, as expected, led to very divided reactions. While the leading politicians of the affected federal states of Vienna and Lower Austria as well as the motorists' clubs welcomed the decision, criticism hailed from environmental NGOs and the Greens.

Lena Schilling, who gained notoriety for her protest against the project, spoke out in the "Krone" newspaper. She took full aim at the SPÖ: "Promising climate protection on Wednesday, then building a highway on Thursday - a highway straight to climate catastrophe. We are concreting over our future with billions of euros to destroy a nature reserve." And the Green MEP added: "SPÖ leader Andreas Babler is turning out to be a pure climate air act. Dear SPÖ: Those who sow roads will reap resistance."

Dear SPÖ: Those who sow roads will reap resistance.

EU-Abgeordnete Lena Schilling (Grüne)

Gewessler: SPÖ "sinks" billions
Green Party leader Leonore Gewessler, who had turned down the project as transport minister at the time, followed up in the afternoon. "With the demolition excavator, the Vienna SPÖ is not only tearing down nature. It is also deciding against the future of our children," explained the 48-year-old at a press conference called at short notice.

The Lobau Tunnel will now be built after all: Green MEP Lena Schilling (left) and former minister Leonore Gewessler sharply criticize the SPÖ's approach.(Bild: Krone KREATIV/APA (2), Martin Jöchl)

The Social Democrats have decided against "nature, the next generation and common sense". The data is clear: more roads would lead to more traffic. "Concrete Minister Hanke is making his decision contrary to clear scientific findings and against the interests of the people," said the Green Party leader.

The city government is burying billions instead of relieving the burden on citizens. There is no money for combating inflation, basic child protection or relief for energy costs or public transport tickets. "But suddenly all the coffers are open for billions in concrete in the middle of the national park," criticized Gewessler. Every euro that is "buried" here is missing elsewhere. The Green Party leader attested to the SPÖ's "fascinating prioritization". Hanke was betraying the people for his "concrete monument". Gewessler announced resistance: Politics must have a "damn responsibility".

The S1 project in detail

The S1 (Vienna Outer Ring Expressway) closes the gap in the regional ring of high-ranking roads around Vienna and covers a total length of around 19 km. The project is being built in two stages.

• Stage 1: Groß-Enzersdorf - Süßenbrunn
  With a length of 10.8 kilometers, nine bridges, five green bridges and two major junctions, this first section of the project connects Vienna's largest urban development area, Seestadt Aspern, to the high-ranking road network via the so-called S1-Spange. Construction will begin in spring 2026, is estimated to cost around EUR 500 million and will take around six years. The Groß-Enzersdorf-Süßenbrunn section is already effective in terms of traffic and will relieve around 100,000 people in the Viennese districts of Essling, Aspern and Breitenlee, as well as the villages of Raasdorf and Groß-Enzersdorf. For the first stage, or "realization section 1", all the necessary permits have already been legally approved and construction can begin in 2026.
• Stage 2: Schwechat - Groß-Enzersdorf (Danube-Lobau Tunnel)
  The 8.3 km long road section comprises a tunnel in closed construction. With two tubes (two lanes each) and state-of-the-art safety technology, transit traffic will pass under the Danube and under the Lobau. The Donau-Auen National Park will remain completely untouched. Current estimates assume that construction will start in 2030 at a cost of EUR 2.2 billion, with the construction period estimated at around ten years. Proceedings are still pending for this stage (realization phase 2), which must be awaited.
• The total planned construction costs for both stages amount to around EUR 2.7 billion and will be financed entirely by ASFiNAG. Due to the independent financing logic of the road operator, no one is paying for the project who does not use high-ranking road infrastructure themselves.

Nature conservation organizations also sharply criticized the decision. The WWF spoke of a "billion-dollar mistake". According to them, the tunnel endangers a natural paradise, seals off prime farmland and sabotages the achievement of climate targets. Greenpeace called it a "catastrophic mistake for the climate, nature and people".

The NGO Virus saw Hanke on a collision course with the rule of law "because the S1 lacks a legal basis due to being contrary to EU law". "In times of climate and budget crisis, investing vast amounts of taxpayers' money in an access road to a tunnel that may never be approved is negligent," Global 2000 said.

SPÖ fires back: "A lot of time lost due to Gewessler"
Vienna's City Councillor for Mobility, Ulli Sima (SPÖ), on the other hand, welcomed the announcements to close the gap in the regional ring road in the north of Vienna: "Every major city in Austria and Europe has a bypass, except Vienna, a city of two million people. We have already lost a lot of time due to the S1 stop by Gewessler in order to free people from the unbearable transit burden and to promote the climate-friendly urban development of Vienna," said Sima.

Every major city in Austria and Europe has a bypass, except Vienna, a city of 2 million inhabitants.

Wiens Mobilitätsstadträtin Ulli Sima (SPÖ)

Mikl-Leitner sees "good news"
 Lower Austria's Governor Johanna Mikl-Leitner (ÖVP) described the construction of the S1 bypass as "good news for the residents of the eastern region". Her federal state has been pushing for its realization for many years. "At last, progress is being made on this key transport project." This means that the federal government is "drawing a line under the ideologically driven transport policy of recent years", said Mikl-Leitner. She also spoke of an important "partial success that is needed to realize the S8 in Marchfeld".

FPÖ: "Long overdue"
"It is a long overdue step," commented Lower Austria's Deputy Provincial Governor Udo Landbauer (FPÖ) on the plans. "Minister Hanke should not allow himself to be swayed from the right path by left-green climate fetishists."

Hanke should not allow himself to be dissuaded from the right path by left-green climate fetishists.

Niederösterreichs LH-Stellvertreter Udo Landbauer (FPÖ)

Drivers' clubs welcome decision
The motorists' clubs, on the other hand, also welcomed the announced construction. "Every year that the Lobau Tunnel is completed later, over 500 million euros in avoidable congestion costs are incurred on the overloaded south-east tangent. In addition, almost 75,000 tons of avoidable greenhouse gases are released - more than one and a half times as much as all domestic air traffic produces per year," said the ÖAMTC. ARBÖ welcomed the fact that implementation of the "important road project" can now begin. After the "ideologically driven delaying tactics" of recent years, "common sense has finally prevailed".