Transit dispute: Söder plans its own truck roadblocks - "Patience is coming to an end"
Created: 07/06/2022 05:53
By: Christian Deutschländer
Bavaria's Prime Minister Markus Söder has announced truck roadblocks for this summer.
© Peter Kneffel/dpa
In response to the transit dispute with Austria, Markus Söder's state government is planning its own truck roadblocks to relieve the population.
Munich – In the bitter transit dispute with Austria, Bavaria is now planning its own truck roadblocks on a daily basis.
“Bavarian patience is coming to an end.
We need short-term measures to relieve our citizens in the border region," said Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) to the
Münchner Merkur
.
The background to this is the dispute with Tyrol about block handling in the Inn Valley, which has not been resolved for many years.
More and more often there are endless queues of trucks on the Bavarian side and alternative traffic through the towns.
Bavarian politicians are fighting back at all levels - so far in vain.
"It threatens to get even worse in the summer when the problems at the airports bring even more traffic onto the roads," warns Söder.
"Now we have to take measures to protect our local population."
Transit dispute with Tyrol: Söder announces truck roadblocks for the summer
Söder is now planning to stop the alternative traffic through the towns in the Inn Valley and in the direction of Salzburg – still in the summer.
His interior and transport ministers in Munich should develop a concept for this “very quickly”.
The federal government should be asked to block the exits on the A 8 and A 93 motorways for national truck traffic on days with block processing by the Austrians.
The district offices, which are responsible for the country roads, could also close the through-roads for truck transit on these days.
"We will control and enforce this with the Bavarian police," promises Söder.
This refers explicitly to trucks, car closures - as is also the case in Tyrol on summer weekends - are not planned in Bavaria.
The CSU boss says he will remain in contact with Berlin and Vienna, but he must act now.
"Otherwise we are at risk of gridlock on the secondary routes to Salzburg and through the Inn Valley."
Söder criticizes the lack of willingness to increase the Brenner toll
Söder also criticized the fact that his recent initiative to increase the toll on the Brenner route in a joint action by Germany, Austria and Italy was hardly pursued.
He had promoted it during a trip to Vienna in the spring, including with Austria's Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP).
The aim was to shift more trucks to rail and thus the Swiss Alps crossing in order to relieve the narrow Inn Valley, which was plagued by noise and exhaust fumes.
"Our proposal for the southern toll from Munich to Verona on the Brenner route has so far only been hesitantly followed, although Bavaria, Tyrol and South Tyrol support it," said Söder.
Tirol has announced the next few days with block processing for July 11, 18 and 25, and then again intensified in October and November.
(CD)
