Milan-Venice Rail Underpass Prompts Local Concerns and Commitments
Everyone agrees on the necessity of the new underpass to the Milan-Venice railway, eliminating the Campagna level crossing, but what about traffic? Firstly, there is the traffic in the center of Campagna, right in front of the church. But there are also concerns from the eight families in Salera, who fear ending up between two dangers: on one side, the existing highway, and on the other, right under their windows, heavy traffic that could be directed toward the area if the currently partially dirt road running alongside the Seriola, serving the emerging Molini 2 industrial area, is improved. No one wants to think about what Campagna, today immersed among fields and farmhouses, might become when heavy vehicles start entering and leaving the new industrial zone. For the past forty years, the hamlet has already had to contend with the nearby highway and with traffic passing through the municipal road that cuts the hamlet in two and connects to Lonato-Montichiari. Paradoxically, it is the very project that has been long anticipated—the underpass—that will encourage truck drivers to prefer Campagna. Currently, the level crossing deters many vehicles, who instead choose to pass through town coming from Lonatino. These very legitimate concerns arose during the assembly promoted by the Perini Administration in front of numerous residents of Campagna and Salera. As mayor Morando Perini explained, the administration wanted to start precisely in the symbolic hamlet where the protest movement against the proposed Eurosea waste incinerator had originated. This tour will visit all hamlets and, in the final stop, the town center. Through these meetings, the Perini-led government will listen to the people, see the issues firsthand, and gather impressions and suggestions, hoping they will later translate into concrete commitments. Let’s now look at some of these initial commitments announced by the mayor and city councilors in the parish hall of Campagna.
Commitments of the administration
Meanwhile, representatives of the hamlet will be elected through popular elections, not appointed directly by the municipal administration. Soon, a call for applications will be issued to hire ten people, preferably retirees, for supervision outside schools. “We do not want to cause unnecessary alarm,” said the mayor, “but even in Lonato, cases of pedophilia could occur. Therefore, we thought of strengthening surveillance in front of schools.”
Davide Baccinelli, deputy mayor and urban planning councilor, recalled the milestones of the anti-incinerator campaign with a final comment: that, to date, no appeal has been filed with the Consiglio di Stato against the Tar di Brescia ruling, which, as remembered, sided with the Municipality and the residents of Lonato who did not want the Campagna plant. The evening deepened its focus when the hot topic of the underpass was discussed.
The project, illustrated by councilor Emilio Baresi, is 615 meters long, 12 meters wide, with a 5-meter depth; it will pass diagonally beneath the railway line. The entrance will be built about a hundred meters from the current level crossing, in the direction of Molini. Additionally, a connecting road to the new industrial area will be constructed, along with another interesting proposal: the installation of tracks to connect the station to the industrial zone, avoiding the transportation of goods by trucks.
Regarding the underpass, it was revealed that Trenitalia (the Italian State Railways) has allocated 1.5 billion euros for its construction. If the project had not been submitted, Perini underlined, the funding would have been lost. “We do not hide the fact that we are also worried,” said Baresi, “about possible issues that may arise in the habitat of Campagna. But we are here precisely to examine them and find optimal solutions.”
Nothing final, of course, and finding alternative solutions will not be easy. A resident of Salera has even suggested to the Municipality to “identify another area where all eight families can live.” The zone risks turning into an unlivable area with the highway, the large Cartrans auto depot, and the future connecting road.
