The Fernpass route is a lifeline for the economy of the Tyrolean districts of Imst, Landeck and Reutte. One that is acutely threatened by a heart attack. The number of traffic jam weekends is increasing every year. The Chamber of Commerce is now calling for a Fernpass summit tunnel to relieve the mountain route. It should not cost the user anything.
According to WK Tyrol, a 1.4-kilometer summit tunnel as a shortcut to the four-kilometre mountain route should now be the prelude to a solution, at the end of which the Tschirgant tunnel will also come to the Inn Valley .
Empty promises
“For decades, the economy has been promised the expansion or improvement of this route,” explained World Cup president Christoph Walser. “We are now writing 2023 and the situation has not improved,” Walser criticized with colleagues from the affected districts. “The economy precludes discussing a toll on the route before construction of the top tunnel has started,” the chamber representatives stressed.
Freedom from tolls is a central element
And even after that, their enthusiasm for tolls is limited, as county officials explained. And for a very simple reason: “The route over the Fernpass is the only way to get from the Reutte district to your own state. There is no alternative route such as in the Wipptal, where you can choose between a low-lying road network or the Autobahn,” explains the World Cup chairman. “The hardest hit district of Reutte has seven crossings to the Allgäu, but only one to Inner Tyrol,” explains district chairman Christian Strigl.
“For us, the B179 represents the aorta, the main traffic artery, where 95 percent of the goods flow flows. A toll would make the products more expensive,” says Strigl. The population, who are exempt with their passenger car, would then be presented with the bill via detours.
Reactions to the advance of World Cup Tyrol
“Toll collection based on the Felbertauern model is urgently needed,” says the red coalition partner: “We owe that to the traffic-stricken population in the Ausserfern.”
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
