The Whitsun travel wave is rolling over the Tauernautobahn these days. Many construction sites are dangerous again this year, and experts fear a traffic jam like at Pentecost 2019.
Beginning of June 2019: The travel wave reached the Salzburger Land at Pentecost. Nothing went back from Golling to the Walserberg – 35 kilometers of traffic jams. Nothing worked on the alternative routes along the Tauern Autobahn either. A similar scenario is feared in Salzburg this weekend. “We expect a lot of traffic on Friday afternoon and Saturday,” says Aloisia Gurtner from the ÖAMTC in Salzburg. Especially the many construction sites on the Tauernautobahn could become a big problem. Minor breakdowns and accidents as risk factors “A breakdown or even a minor accident is enough to cause major traffic jams,” warns Gurtner. The automobile club will therefore have a traffic jam monitor on the motorcycle again, which can quickly repair minor breakdowns. Because the batteries often give up the ghost in stop-and-go traffic. In addition to the number of vehicles, the type of car also plays a role. Because many mobile homes and caravans are expected from Germany. With the narrower construction site lanes, there is an increased risk of accidents. Since everyone responsible is expecting major traffic jams on the Tauernautobahn, there will be exit barriers to keep holidaymakers on the autobahn and thus the country roads free. This has worked only partially well in recent years. One problem: if travelers leave the Autobahn in Germany and enter Salzburg via smaller borders. The municipalities of Grödig and Wals are particularly affected. The burden on the population there has already become extremely high. Private security service only from the summer holidays “There will be enough staff,” reports spokesman Hans Wolfgruber. The private security service, hired by the state, will only be used during the summer holidays. For this alone, Salzburg has to shell out 300,000 euros. The hope: the information about the exit barriers will be fed into more and more navigation devices. “Experience shows that when the navigation system shows the blocking, the drivers stay on the freeway,” says Traffic Councilor Stefan Schnöll. But he also knows that the current measures are not enough. Larger solutions are needed in the future: “Ultimately, only block processing will help us.”
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