Austria's Brenner motorway, one of the busiest Alpine crossing routes in Europe, faces a full closure on Saturday due to a large-scale demonstration against rising traffic volumes. The shutdown is expected to cause severe disruption across the region, particularly for German holidaymakers heading south during the Pentecost break.
Even before the official closure, significant congestion was reported on the route heading south. According to the ADAC, Germany's largest automobile association, delays of up to 50 minutes were recorded near the Schönberg toll station and ahead of the Lueg Bridge construction zone during Friday morning rush hours. The situation is only expected to worsen as the weekend approaches.
The Brenner motorway (A13) will be completely shut down on Saturday between 11:00 AM and 7:00 PM. Heavy goods vehicles face an even earlier restriction, with the closure beginning at 9:00 AM for trucks. In addition, only drivers with business in the area are permitted to use the Brennerstraße B182, the Ellbögener Straße (L38), and the Stubaitalstraße (B183). They must provide proof, such as a hotel booking confirmation or a delivery note. Local authorities have confirmed that no alternative route through the area is available.
The demonstration is taking place in Matrei, a municipality in the Austrian state of Tyrol, and is aimed squarely at the massive volume of vehicles that use the Brenner corridor every day. Karl Mühlsteiger, the mayor of Gries, a town located directly along the motorway, described the situation in stark terms. He told Bavarian Radio that roughly 14.4 million vehicle movements pass through the Brenner annually, taking a serious toll on the health of local residents.
Mühlsteiger said the full motorway shutdown was a last resort after years of enduring worsening conditions. He framed the protest as a direct message to both the Austrian federal government and the European Union, calling for urgent intervention to address the relentless growth in transit traffic through the region.
The Tyrolean state government warned that the Brenner closure could trigger traffic delays throughout the entire state of Tyrol on Saturday. Officials urged residents and travellers to avoid unnecessary car journeys in the region and to either bypass Tyrol entirely or switch to public transport. Germany's Federal Foreign Office also issued travel advisories highlighting the closure and confirming the absence of any viable detour.
The timing of the protest is particularly challenging for German travellers. Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg are in the midst of their Pentecost school holidays, while Saxony-Anhalt's break ends this weekend.
The ADAC warned of heavy traffic heading toward the Alps, Austria, Italy, Croatia, and southern France throughout the last weekend in May. Routes toward the North Sea and Baltic coasts, as well as connections to Poland and the Netherlands, are also expected to be heavily congested. The automobile club cautioned that even alternative routes around the Brenner are highly prone to delays.
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