Timeline Uncertain for SH11 Variant Completion Amid Regional Coordination Efforts
What are the timelines for the completion of the first phase of the variant to the state highway 11, that is the section from the border between Lombardy and Veneto, in the area of Rovizza, to the current bypass of Peschiera? The question has yet to be answered, and this institutional gap has prompted the entities most interested in the matter to establish a specific schedule of meetings to coordinate a common approach.
Last Saturday, in Sirmione, the first of these working meetings took place, involving the mayors of Sirmione and Peschiera and representatives from the Provinces of Verona and Brescia and the Regions of Veneto and Lombardia.
«We have decided to meet every month to remind those responsible that such a matter cannot be left indefinitely pending», says Umberto Chincarini, the mayor of Arilica. «The issue regarding the variant to the state highway 11 has always been very complex, but even now, when it has been reaffirmed that it will be built, important hurdles remain to be resolved».
Problems and needs of the involved territories
«Starting with the section of the first phase, at least regarding Veneto, which most concerns the Peschiera area: some time ago, we returned to ANAS a project that envisaged the elimination of all side roads in the stretch where the variant will coincide with our bypass. In that zone, there are significant production facilities, and traffic arrangements cannot be drastically changed without proper consideration», recalls Chincarini. «Moreover, it is still unclear whether there are funds available for the construction of this phase; but if the money isn’t there, someone needs to clarify the situation for us».
«Living in anticipation of a road that might be built in twenty years isn’t easy: if there were precise timelines, including waiting periods, at least we could plan differently, setting up alternative interventions to improve the traffic conditions in this area».
In a conference convened in Rome some years ago, the near-immediate realization of the first phase was envisioned: the timelines seemed so quick that the mayor of Castelnuovo demanded written guarantees that this section would only be built once the contract for the second, which affects the Castelnuovo territory, was ready.
«The justified concern was that the town of Cavalcaselle would be overwhelmed by fast-moving traffic from not just one, but two roads; today, this situation has completely reversed: everything is ready to tender the second section but nothing is known about the first», says Chincarini.
«What’s the point of two disconnected road segments? It’s hard to understand, unless the only answer is, indeed, lack of funds: but even then, it would be better to be transparent rather than undertake works without a clear logic and, therefore,», he concludes, «without effectiveness».
Giuditta Bolognesi
