Austrian protesters shut vital motorway connecting Germany to Italy
Thousands of residents demanded action on truck traffic and pollution as authorities closed part of the route for eight hours, officials said.
- On Saturday, around 3,000 residents led by Mayor Karl Muehlsteiger of Gries am Brenner blocked Austria's Brenner motorway in a symbolic eight-hour protest against traffic, noise and pollution on the vital Alpine corridor.
- More than 2.4 million vehicles used the Alpine Brenner Pass last year, more than doubling from 900,000 lorries in 1991, fueling decades of tension between Austria and Germany over managing trans-Alpine freight through Tyrol communities.
- Despite warnings of 'extensive traffic jams' from Austria's motoring club OeAMTC, disruption remained limited as authorities cordoned off the motorway and drivers largely heeded advice to avoid the area during the eight-hour closure.
- Muehlsteiger told demonstrators, 'We want to send a message to Brussels... that things absolutely cannot continue like this,' stressing the urgent need for a 'Brenner north access route' to move freight off roads.
- An overnight arson attack on electrical control units near Verona in Italy disrupted rail traffic on the Verona Porta Nuova–Brenner line, with investigators probing possible links to radical environmentalist or anarcho-insurrectionist groups.
21 Articles
21 Articles
Austrian protesters shut vital motorway connecting Germany to Italy
Thousands of local residents shut down Austria's Brenner motorway on Saturday, a vital north-south corridor through the Alps between Germany and Italy, in protest at trucks and tourists perennially clogging up their roads.
Austrian protesters shut Brenner motorway on Saturday over pollution
Thousands of demonstrators blocked Austria’s vital Brenner motorway on Saturday to protest rising traffic noise and pollution. The eight-hour shutdown of the transit corridor between Germany and Italy disrupted travel.
The Brenner is spooky empty: Due to a demonstration, the authorities completely block the most important Alpine pass on May 30. These are the pictures.
Blasmusik and Schnittchen: The traffic collapse on the Brenner motorway remains out – and perhaps also the success of the protest. Free track for our reporter.
If you want to drive to Italy by car today, it's better to postpone that trip for a day or arrange a place to stay in Austria. Throughout the day, there is no traffic on the highway through the Tyrolean Alps to Italy, the Brenner Pass. That's because the small village of Gries am Brenner is fed up. From 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., residents will occupy the Brenner Pass in both directions, along with two shortcuts. The 35 kilometer long road that connects…
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 50% of the sources lean Right
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
