Finance Minister Magnus Brunner (ÖVP) has signed Asfinag’s current road construction programme. The Lobau tunnel does not appear in it. The final knell for the mega project? Although the Ministry of Finance does not want to see the signature as a rejection of the bypass in the northeast of Vienna, the city of Vienna sees it differently. And plan tough countermeasures.
We recall: Environment Minister Leonore Gewessler (Greens) rejected the construction of the tunnel already planned and approved. “Harmful for the climate, totally obsolete, an absurdity”, are their arguments. Less instead of more traffic. She sees her line confirmed with the signature of the black finance minister.
But there, at the Minister of Finance, nobody wants to know about it. An expert opinion was wisely prepared in advance by the State Service. Freely translated content: The release of the funds for the construction projects of Asfinag 2022 should not be interpreted as a rejection of the Lobau tunnel. On the contrary. The ÖVP is known for the construction of the northeastern ring road of Vienna. An important opening to complete the ring around Vienna. This is the only way that heavy trucks, for example, can be routed through the city and not have to drive over the tangent line.
Vienna does not want to accept the shutdown of the bypass
But what is this report worth? Not much for the Viennese transport councilor Ulli Sima (SPÖ). “This is a kneeling of the finance minister before the Greens,” Sima scolded. The city of Vienna will not accept the shutdown of the bypass. “Bypasses are being built in all federal states, just not in our country,” says Sima. The Viennese dams are already damming over the few Danube crossings anyway.
And the number of cars will hardly decrease in the future. Result: The city is pushing for stricter transit restrictions. Not every big juggernaut is allowed to meander randomly through the urban area.
Alternatives to the tunnel, as proposed by Gewessler, are unrealistic for the alderman: “The lead time for this is 15 years.” The troubled residents don’t have that much time. After all, the Lobau tunnel has been planned, checked and approved for 20 years.
Source: Krone
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