Landslide Disrupts Riva-Limone Route; Ferry and Detours in Use
It may seem impossible, but at the Limone roadside station the phone keeps ringing. The usual request: can traffic flow on the «Gardesana occidentale» to reach Riva? Someone, by car, has gone as far as the last municipality in our province and, faced with the inability to pass, has even protested. Yet, local and national newspapers and TV have made it loud and clear that — for almost a week now — another landslide has occurred in this area. Clear signs are also positioned along the Strada Statale 45 bis, explicitly warning that the road is closed between Limone and Riva.
Landslide Situation and Alternative Routes
To emphasize the impossibility of transit in the northernmost part of 45 bis, before the road enters Trentino territory, are also the long queues of vehicles and people heading to the Limone ferry terminal to board the boats connecting the town to Riva. Currently, the lake route remains the only way to bypass the landslide obstacle, unless one opts for a lengthy detour by car around the lake or the other option: ascending the Valsabbia and descending to Riva via Lake Ledro.
Navigation company Navigarda has immediately established a continuous ferry service, operating throughout the day with two trips every hour. Business is thriving, given the queues in recent days. Prices? The one-way ticket for a vehicle with the driver (Limone-Riva) costs 13,500 lire, with other passengers paying 5,000 lire each. The same applies for the return trip.
Landslide Situation and Interventions
The landslide situation remains constantly monitored. The Christmas and St. Stephen’s days have certainly not favored meetings at the administrative or political level (meetings between Limone officials and those of the Provincia di Trento and Regione Lombardia will only occur in the coming days) or any kind of intervention, so only rumors can be gathered. One significant voice highlights that the landslide from Rocchetta (the mountain on the left, just before reaching Riva from Salò) is not isolated.
Two other slips are believed to be waiting higher up, ready to topple onto the road and into the lake, all within the mountain ridge between Riva and Ponale. Analyses and expert assessments come from the Provincia di Trento, which manages the affected stretch of road. The landslide, in fact, occurred a few hundred meters south of Riva, between the first and second tunnels, heading towards Salò.
The site is very close to where, in February 1999, another landslide slid onto the state road, killing one person and causing other issues, notably the closure of transit for several months. This unstable landslide situation could weigh heavily when decisions are made on how to address it: whether to clear and reconstruct the roadway (about thirty meters of which have fallen into the lake) with rockfall barriers, or to take a radical and definitive step by constructing a tunnel to bypass this stretch of state road for 800-1000 meters.
Until yesterday evening, the opening of the road section south of Limone had not caused any major problems, despite another landslide — from November 18 — which caused a new blockage near Nanzel. After working on it for over a month, the company suspended operations from December 24 to January 7. Transit is continuous 24 hours a day (alternating single-lane traffic at the slide site), managed by volunteer teams ready to halt traffic if danger arises.
Current Situation in Limone and Future Perspectives
Meanwhile, Limone has tried to maintain a normal appearance in recent days, despite the latest setback that has fallen upon it. The small town on the upper lake transforms — from March to November — into a Garda tourist capital. During the year-end festivities, some hotels opened their doors, but this is insignificant compared to the bustling summer months, when the town’s 1,000 residents are joined by over 5,000 tourists.
Antonio Girardi, secretary of the Hotel Association and a hotel operator himself, states: “The road causes us serious problems, and it’s really difficult to predict how this will end. In my opinion, nothing should be left unconsidered, and it’s impossible to think Limone could remain disconnected for long.”
The situation is complex. The most credible hypothesis is a definitive solution, involving the construction of a bypass (essentially, a tunnel), which would circumvent the landslide-prone area. However, building a tunnel would require at least a year or more. In the meantime, residents and authorities in Limone are asking: how can passage be allowed during this period?