Transport Disruption on Gardesana Sparks Long-Term Impact in Trentino-Italy

Giancarlo Samuelli lives a few kilometers from Gargnano and trades in gas and kerosene, both wholesale and retail. His designated area extends as far as the Giudicarie Trentine: Concei, Bezzecca, and surrounding areas. To reach them, until a month ago, he used the Gardesana and traveled up the Valle di Ledro. Travel time: an hour or just over. In recent days, to serve his clients, he has had to look for alternatives due to the closure of the state highway south of Riva. He was not allowed to board the ferry because it transports flammable materials. Armed with patience, he turned his truck toward Salò, then continued to Idro and Valsabbia, Storo, and the Valle di Ledro. Travel time? Just under three hours. The route that the Gardesano trader had to take might become a regular occurrence, for him and for hundreds of other vehicles, light and heavy. And not just for a short period.

Impact on Traffic and Connections

If the forecasts from the Provincia di Trento are confirmed, the Gardesana will only be passable again in the summer of 2002. A similar problem (in reverse) will multiply many times over, as many as the number of shops, bars, and hotels in Brescia that obtain supplies from Trentino: circling the lake or the Valsabbia, while smaller vehicles may use the Riva-Limone ferry. This scenario, which is once again emerging in the upper Garda area, had already undergone a severe test in ’99: following the landslide from Rocchetta in February, the connections between Brescia and Trentino were interrupted for several months.

At that time, there was a desire to quickly resolve a risky situation, and it was decided (as it then happened) to address the issue in a way that would allow the tourist season to continue while maintaining the tradition of Limone and Garda. This time, however, there seemed to be — until yesterday — some uncertainty, perhaps due to the element of surprise and the particular timing, during the holidays, when the problem reappeared. After recovering from the initial shock, the upper lake area is now organizing itself.

Long-term Perspectives and Consequences

It may still be a story of some duration. Similar to winter 1999, in the coming months, groups of middle and high school students will be waiting for the boat early in the morning to reach Riva and will return in the early afternoon. A transport method, the boat, usually used for school trips or travel, will once again become the sole means of transportation for the youth from Limone (and Tremosine) who attend schools in lower Trentino, as well as for adults working in factories, schools, and offices in the Riva-Arco plain.

The issue of healthcare assistance and hospital admissions will also re-emerge. In Limone, an efficient volunteer service operates, managed by the Croce Bianca. But in case of emergency, it will not be the same to cover the nine kilometers from the town of Brescia to the Trentino hospitals; instead, it will involve reaching Salò (33 km), Gavardo (41 km), or even Brescia (63 km). Everyone has realized that it would be wrong to think that a highway blockade for a year or slightly less would only cause inconvenience to Limone.

While awaiting the completion of the new tunnel by the Provincia di Trento through the Rocchetta mountain — 1250 meters of tunnel and a 75 billion lira cost — the entire western Gardesana and the surrounding towns could suffer serious consequences. Local authorities and tourism operators are already mobilizing to find quick solutions. Navigarda, which organizes sixteen ferry services per day, is awaiting instructions from the municipalities to possibly increase lake transport.