Gardesana Road Disruptions: June Traffic Resumption and Ongoing Challenges
Comments are almost filled with a sense of fatalism, those gathered in Limone after the provincial councilor Mauro Parolini outlined the prospects regarding traffic on the Gardesana in the coming months. The road will remain closed for Easter but, in exchange, by June it will be possible to travel through the section north of Lake Garda – between Limone and Riva – with all due precautions. By July, the period is expected to mark the near-end (or complete) of the troubled saga of the 45 bis in its Trentino segment.
Instead, all questions about the Brescia side of the road remain open: both between Gargnano and Limone (18 kilometers with many hazards and an estimated expenditure of over 300 billion euros for potential reconstruction) and the other section, between Salò and Gargnano – 15 kilometers – which has no geological hazards but would require bypassing populated centers, with stratospheric costs of 400 billion euros.
Reactions from operators and on-site situations
The news received the day before yesterday from Brescia has raised the usual level of skepticism among tourism operators on the upper lake. However, it must be admitted that the hypothesis of closing for Easter was not entirely dismissed, and as days passed, it became clearer that an alternative solution was unlikely to be found.
Furthermore, the same companies Collini and Oberosler, involved in constructing the Rocchetta tunnel (960 meters long with a cost of 28 billion euros), had indicated that meeting the mid-July deadline for the tunnel required some significant sacrifices to avoid halting work in the construction sites.
Among hotel owners, some grumbling has emerged. Recent days saw loud protests: but now? Antonio Girardi comments: “The first problem is finding the right interlocutor to discuss with: Trento Province? The Government? Technical experts? Geologists? When you depend on others, you have to accept what they give you: they hold the tap to turn it on and off.”
Logistical situations and critical issues
Work and expenditure are happening within Trentino territory. However, something less negative seems to be emerging: “The ADAC, essentially the German AA, has provided its subscribers with accurate information about the Garda situation through its website. But it’s important that, if the ferry service is promoted, there are also signs directing to the ferry itself and visible to drivers.”
On the Brescia side, for example, I saw a sign indicating the boat service between Limone and Riva. As for the rumored threats (such as abstaining from voting, boycotting Trentino wholesalers, and so on), Girardi remains cautious and does not comment definitively: “Hoteliers form a community that isn’t the same as a factory’s workforce, where employees generally earn the same pay and, consequently, may have similar opinions…”
There doesn’t seem to be much enthusiasm on the upper lake. Some say it’s already a season to forget. Fortunately, if deadlines are met, there could be a chance to make up for it in June, when Germany will have a series of long weekends: the initial one on May 24 followed by Pentecost and more.
Girardi concludes with a philosophical and hopeful note: “You have to take what comes and not get overly upset.”