Hopes for a new road connection before the holidays have been dashed. Guntschach remains dependent on the ferry.
While the Hemma rock near Guntschach is being removed with heavy equipment (we reported), the residents of the small town near Maria Rain have to accept another setback. “Unfortunately, the work is progressing very slowly. The rock is extremely porous,” says Mayor Franz Ragger in an interview with the “Krone”. And that means all plans to make the road passable again by Christmas are gone. “The heavy rain events of the past few weeks are to blame,” explains Ragger. But it is not just the hesitant work on the rock that thundered onto the only connecting road on December 15, 2022 that is causing concern for the community and residents of Guntschach. The only fire engine that was specially parked in the isolated town is also broken. “The cardan shaft broke,” regrets the community leader. But the fire brigade is already in the process of repairing the damage as quickly as possible. The fact that Guntschacher Strasse will not be accessible for the second Christmas in a row is causing great disappointment among the residents. “People had hoped that there would soon be a connection to the outside world again. They are sad that they cannot go back to their homes yet,” says Christin Pogoriutschnig, whose parents stayed in Guntschach with around 30 others and are dependent on the ferry and a narrow emergency route. According to the construction company, the work is not expected to be completed until May. So the people of Guntschach will experience another Christmas in isolation.
source site-12