La Perla Toll Connection Opens by June to Ease Traffic at Lake Garda
The new connection between the toll booth and La Perla will be ready by the end of June. The official opening is scheduled for early summer, barring last-minute delays. The news was confirmed by Carlo Lepore, General Director of Società Autostrada Brescia-Verona-Padova, through his spokesperson.
“We cannot deliver the project before that date because there are still several works to be completed: paving and road surface installation, both horizontal and vertical signage, then the installation of lighting poles with their connections to control units, and finally the landscaping of green areas. As can be seen,” adds the Serenissima management, “these are important and complex projects. The delay in their completion was also caused by the recent bad weather, which significantly slowed down the work.”
Project completion and critical issues
The crucial La Perla roadside junction is thus finally complete after a decade of work, delays, and postponements. According to the company’s management, “this project will significantly ease traffic flow entering and exiting the town on Lake Garda and also at the highway toll gate.”
However, concerns remain. The reason is clear. Drivers traveling along the so-called “lower” route (for example, from Sirmione or via Mantova) will encounter a line of vehicles descending from the overpass, and from that point on, the remaining stretch towards the viaduct will become congested, as it does today.
In short, the concrete risk is that the traffic jams will simply be shifted forward by a few hundred meters. The best solution? It was one considered by the previous Ramella Administration, when a tunnel was proposed (similar to the one built under La Perla interchange) to bypass the state road before the hospital intersection.
Construction works and traffic alternatives
Anyway, the complex set of works expected to open to traffic by the end of June will be able to alleviate the congestion occurring between the A4 toll booth and La Perla: at least drivers coming from Castiglione or the highway will have the option to pass over the overpass or through the underpass to avoid the notorious roundabout.
They will, in fact, be able to head directly towards Lonato or Sirmione. As mentioned, this project completes the section of the bypass of State Road 11 started in 1993 with the first section, which branches off between Ponte S. Marco and Lonato and currently ends in Colombare di Sirmione.
In the future, the project will extend to Peschiera and Castelnuovo. The Regione Veneto has already allocated approximately 40 billion euros for these works. However, they have not yet begun.
The new La Perla raccordo was delivered on February 16, two years ago, to the temporary association of companies Grassetto and Codelfa Prefabbricati of Tortona (lead company). Serenissima fully financed the project, which ultimately will cost nearly 16 billion euros.
The structure, almost completed barring unforeseen events, consists of a viaduct 216 meters long and 13 meters wide, with dual carriageways, spanning above La Perla. It is supported by 9 spans, each 24 meters wide.
In addition to this massive structure, two underpasses each 12.5 meters long and 11.5 meters wide were built. Currently, no other interventions are planned for the lower Garda area road network.
Therefore, remains the Municipality of Desenzano’s already-approved project for the construction of the new Grezze interchange. The cost is 1.2 billion euros, funded by the municipal administration.