The controversial Lobau tunnel is again delayed. An environmental organization has succeeded in sending the project to the queue via the court path. Asfinag is emphasized.
The case is a bit complicated and is fighting in court at different levels. The UVP procedures that fall under the federal laws are completed and approved. Moreover, there are other procedures that fall under state laws (for example, water legislation). This affects the state of Lower Austria and the state of Vienna.
Complicated legal questions
In the case of the S1, the water law permits were granted by the Lower Austrian and Viennese state government. The symptoms that have arisen against it are awaiting the BVWG. In this complaints procedure, the BVWG judge decided to submit questions about the provisional decision to the European Court of Justice. These questions relate to the earlier strategic environmental research for the Federal Roads Act, in which the S 1 was anchored as a road connection to establish.
The environmental organization virus has therefore delayed the process. Spokesperson Wolfgang Rehm: “As a result, this means that the Lobau tunnel project, which is still missing in the majority, will not be stored for time,” said Rehm. This is the perfect time for an exit strategy. “The thought break that has now arisen must be used for purification by the concrete, which so far have no exhausted words with legal science or expertise,” requires Rehm.
New Minister of Infrastructure wants to ride the construction
The then Minister of Climate Protection Leonore Gewessler (Greens) had stopped the construction of the Vienna Lobau tunnel at the end of 2021. The plans for a Lobau fast road with their tunnel through a nature reserve were not followed. According to the current government program, the construction of the buckle Espern (S1 Spange), ie the highway tax that would then connect to Stadtstraße, then connect the Lake Town to the S1. At the end of February, Peter Hanke, the federal Minister of Transport, Innovation and Technology of Spö, also joined an interview to the tunnel construction.
The folaties and highway financing companies (ASFINAG) were convinced that the measures were also approved before the ECJ. In the coming procedure one will “give full comments and participate constructively in clarifying union legislation as quickly as possible”.
How long the procedure will take could not be foreseen on Monday. In order to have as few delays as possible in this context, ASFINAG is planning to stimulate an interim continuation of the procedure. It concerns the topics of nature conservation and water legislation.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
