Lake Garda Traffic and Road Work Update Amid Landslides and Infrastructure Repairs
Who, after replacing the old calendar with the new one, decided yesterday to travel the “Gardesana Occidentale” in the northernmost part of Lake Garda, realized that the only new feature could be summarized in the change of the lunar cycle.
Typical scenes following a night of some excess: torn signs, half-empty bottles or cans here and there. Nothing out of the ordinary, in short.
As we ascend between Gargnano and Limone, the incomplete works at Forbisicle (south of Campione) catch the eye, and – of course – the landslide at Nanzel, which forced the closure of the SS 45 bis for over a month, south of Limone.
Here, traffic is alternated single-lane, day and night, with patrols by volunteers from the Alpini group, Civil Protection, and staff provided by the Associazione Albergatori Limonesi.
The roadway is narrow, as the entire road surface cannot be used, since the November landslide hurled part of the asphalt into the lake, along with the underlying Enel pipeline and the Garda Uno Consortium pipeline.
Status of the works and traffic
On the mountain ridge, the restoration works are awaiting the resumed clearance of a forty-meter stretch of landslide, reaching approximately fifty meters in height.
Therefore, additional signs indicating the roadblock are located in the town and prohibit transit toward Riva: similar to those clearly visible, scattered in Salò, Toscolano Maderno, and Gargnano.
In recent days, the traffic-related updates could only be modest: a few brief interruptions at Nanzel (south of Limone) in the past evenings, including New Year’s Eve when, around 11 pm, some gravel fell, causing a bit of alarm but nothing more.
Significant efforts, then, by the men of Anas, who had to spend the holidays under the sword of Damocles of mobilization.
Some of them are significantly behind on their vacations, overwhelmed by continuous emergencies that require their service.
While awaiting political meetings in the coming days (tomorrow at 3 p.m., a first inspection by local administrators is scheduled, promoted by the President of the Comunità Montana dell’Alto Garda Bruno Faustini, with the participation of Provincial Public Works Councillor Mauro Parolini and Regional Environmental Quality Councillor Franco Nicoli Cristiani), attention begins to shift to the future.
The works at Forbisicle will resume, having been interrupted before the holidays.
The company will have a few more days, and the completion of the intervention will inevitably be postponed beyond the initial schedule (set for January 11).
At that point, traffic was blocked from 8:30 am to 12:30 pm and from 1:30 pm to 4:30 pm.
After January 7, work will also resume at Nanzel, south of Limone, to complete the remediation and roadway adjustments. It will take a few weeks.
Until December 24th, the closure was total; now, considering the new damage to the road caused by the landslide at Rocchetta, which blocks the connection to Riva, the study of a possible opening at least during certain hours—noon and evening—is underway.
For the night, passage will only be allowed if volunteer patrolling is guaranteed, as is being done during these holiday days.
The question of Rocchetta remains open.
As is now well known, regarding the construction of the new tunnel—proposed as a radical solution by the Province of Trento (closure until June 2002 and an expenditure of 75 billion lire)—the Brescia authorities strongly demand a temporary intervention, also supported by the Province of Brescia, to enable passage on the “Gardesana.”
What is certain is that in the coming days, the situation in the upper lake area will become particularly critical for two towns – Campione and Limone – which, during the day, will be connected to the rest of the world only through the winding roads of Tremosine.
Limone finds solace in being able to use the emergency ferry service set up urgently by Navigarda; meanwhile, Campione is in distress.