Third lane coming

U-turn: Green light for A9 expansion after all

It is coming after all! Peter Hanke (SPÖ) spoke out in favor of the expansion of the A9 Pyhrnautobahn between Graz-West and Wildon on Saturday.(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Jürgen Fuchs/Mario Urbantschitsch)

A turnaround in transport policy: after giving the green light for the construction of the controversial Lobau Tunnel in Vienna, SPÖ Minister Peter Hanke has now also reached an agreement with the Styrian state government to continue work on the third lane for the Pyhrn freeway south of Graz. 

In 2021, Leonore Gewessler, Transport Minister for the Greens, ended the hopes of many drivers commuting to Graz from the south: There will be no third lane on the A9, the Pyhrnautobahn, between Graz-West and Wildon. "Too much land consumption" was the reason given at the time. The province of Styria then commissioned a study by the Technical University.

The result: there was "no alternative" to expanding the A9 and the freeway would already be 103 percent full in summer 2023. Public transport as an alternative would not be able to cope with this - too many businesses and too many people had settled in the southern suburbs of the provincial capital.

Now, two years later, comes the next chapter in the story. Transport Minister Peter Hanke (SPÖ) gave the official go-ahead to pursue the project on Saturday after consultation with the province of Styria. It is a response to the traffic problems in the region and the challenges in terms of safety and quality of life.

It's coming after all! Peter Hanke (SPÖ) spoke out in favor of the expansion of the A9 Pyhrn freeway between Graz-West and Wildon on Saturday.(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Jürgen Fuchs/Mario Urbantschitsch)

In 2021, Leonore Gewessler (Greens) stopped the plans for the Lobau freeway and the expansion of the A9 - now the new federal government is changing course.(Bild: APA/TOBIAS STEINMAURER)

Hanke: "Do not accept traffic jams and detours in towns"
"Despite our extensive investments in the rail infrastructure, we are seeing a further increase in road traffic in the southern economic area of Graz," says Hanke. "Without targeted measures, there is a risk of increased congestion and traffic dodging into the towns. We cannot accept that."

Above all, it is important to me that people's quality of life is maintained. Being stuck in traffic jams certainly doesn't promote this.

Verkehrsminister Peter Hanke (SPÖ)

Planning will be resumed
At this point in time, the Yes to the expansion means that planning and testing will be resumed. "With the start of planning, we are now creating the basis for an objective project development that meets both mobility needs and environmental requirements," says the Minister, who only a few days ago also spoke out in favor of the construction of the Vienna Outer Ring Expressway including the Lobau Tunnel. 

Money comes from vignettes and tolls
Asfinag is now officially entrusted with the continuation of the project, which is currently in an "early planning phase". Before construction can begin, a needs assessment and an environmental impact assessment will be carried out. It is not yet clear whether an environmental impact assessment will be necessary. The aim is to complete this phase in five years, i.e. by 2030. 

The question of financing remains. In any case, the money is there and has been budgeted for, as Asfinag is financing the project with revenue from truck tolls and vignettes. It is not possible to balance the budget with this.