Stuck trucks: Brenner motorway closed on Friday due to snowfall

How long the closure in the direction of Bolzano would last was still unclear early on Friday afternoon. Asfinag spoke to the APA of “slight improvements in some areas”.

According to the online portal “stol.it”, the Brenner motorway on the Italian and South Tyrolean side was also at least temporarily closed from the Vipiteno toll station in the north direction. It was said that around 40 centimeters of new snow had fallen in a short time near Brenner-Nord. The main problem, however, was trucks that used the second and third lanes despite the ban on driving and overtaking, getting stuck and thus blocking the way for cars, but especially for Asfinag’s clearing vehicles, it was said. As a precautionary measure, special towing teams have been positioned along the route – these are now supposed to get the trucks running again, said Asfinag spokesman Alexander Holzedl to the APA.

Video: Heavy snowfall on the Brenner motorway

Trouble at the transit forum

The block caused trouble at the Transit Forum Austria-Tirol. It was known that there was a risk of heavy snowfall, and chairman Fritz Gurgiser criticized the APA for a lack of precautions and described “Tyrolean chaos politics”. Rather, we will “watch until the A13 with trucks parked across it is no longer in use.” Gurgiser criticized that high, avoidable economic costs would now arise and placed Tyrol at a “hot spot”.

The fresh snow also caused isolated problems elsewhere: traffic jams were also recorded on the Inntal motorway (A12) near Kufstein in the direction of Bavaria. There were also delays on Zillertalstrasse (B169), Stubaitalstrasse (B183) and Seefelder Strasse (B177), among others. After a traffic accident involving several vehicles, Sellraintalstrasse (L13) between Gries and Sellrain also had to be closed in both directions.

Snow chains are mandatory on Arlbergstrasse

Snow chains were required on the Arlbergstraße (B197) between St. Anton am Arlberg and Alpe Rauz in both directions, on the Tuxer Straße (L6) between Hintertux and Kaltenbach and on the Sellraintalstraße (L13) between Zirl and Kühtai.

The forecast amounts of new snow for Tyrol had also caused the risk of avalanches to increase significantly. In the eastern and southeastern parts of the country, avalanche warning level 4 on the five-part scale was issued above the tree line. This meant that there was “great danger”. In large parts of Tyrol, the avalanche danger was assessed as “significant” (level 3). Up to 50 centimeters of fresh snow was expected in places.

Heavy snowfall also caused disruptions in Carinthia on Friday. The Wurzenpass road (B109) between Villach and Kranjska Gora (Slovenia) was completely closed in the afternoon. Chains were required on Katschberg Straße (B99), on Turracher Straße (B95), on Weißensee Straße (B87) between Weißbriach and Greifenburg and on Nassfeld Straße (B90) at the Italian border. The Villach Alpine Road was already closed from midday, and this closure is expected to last until Saturday.

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