"Krone" knows when

Collapse looms again on the Tangente in November

ASFINAG was surprised by the fierce criticism - they had warned of the bottleneck on all channels.(Bild: Ernst Weingartner / Weingartner-Foto / picturedesk.com)

Up to four hours of gridlock on Vienna's main traffic artery: after the record traffic jam at the weekend, ASFINAG is surprised and explains why the emergency stop was unavoidable - and why drivers will still have to tremble again in November.

A Sunday that the Viennese will not soon forget: Between the Prater junction and St. Marx, nothing worked on the Tangente at the weekend. Only one lane was open, the avalanche of traffic stretched back for miles - in some cases as far as the A4. Hours of standstill. "I've never experienced anything like it here," says a "Krone" colleague who gave up after three hours and turned back, exasperated. Many others could not. Families who only did one thing on their day off: stand still. 

Construction site with an announcement
The reason for the traffic chaos: roadworks on the A23. Between midday on Sunday and early Monday morning, only one lane was open due to a general renovation. Tearing up concrete, milling, spraying, asphalting - a complex operation. But why all this on the weekend of all days, when many people are returning from a short vacation?

"No other option for construction reasons"
 ASFINAG has only limited understanding for the excitement. "It was particularly extensive this time because we had to narrow the road to one lane. There was no other way to do it - because of the A4 access road," says a spokesperson. "We've never had this before and it won't happen again." Criticism of the communication is rejected. According to ASFINAG, "we really did get the word out on all channels on Thursday, with everything we had." Nevertheless, many were surprised. The construction site operator is also not talking about a crisis meeting. "That was a hoax."

ASFINAG was surprised by the fierce criticism - they had warned about the bottleneck on all channels.(Bild: Ernst Weingartner / Weingartner-Foto / picturedesk.com)

Two further dates already planned
ASFINAG promises relief for the upcoming renovation stages - expected on November 7 and 14: "We no longer expect such massive delays." The planners want to schedule the upcoming work over the weekend again - this time carefully. And these are also the last two dates for this year - the tangent should definitely remain open on the Advent weekends.

Work subject to weather conditions
"We didn't want to block the return traffic from the SCS on Saturday. People are coming back from vacation on Sunday, but we have to do it at some point." However, ASFINAG emphasizes that everything can still be postponed in the event of bad weather. After all, asphalt needs time to harden and the necessary marking work is also not possible in the rain. "Specifically, we always have to wait for the weather forecast for the weekend on Thursday."