Trento and Brescia Discuss Road Reopening and New Tunnels Over Landslide
The meeting, held late yesterday afternoon at the Trento Province regarding the Gardesana road between Riva del Garda and Limone (closed following the landslide on December 22), offers a glimmer of hope for the future of the situation.
Such hope is fragile: any decision will primarily depend on the safety guarantees that the Rocchetta mountain ridge can provide.
This is an aspect that sees the Trentino representatives quite determined not to concede ground. However, the Brescian administrators present at the meeting have at least succeeded in moving their Trentino colleagues away from a stance of outright refusal, which until yesterday appeared unwavering.
Participants and institutional positions
The Province president, Alberto Cavalli, was accompanied by the Broletto assessore Mauro Parolini, Bruno Faustini (President of the Mountain Community), Pino Mongiello (Community of Garda), and Battista Martinelli (mayor of Limone).
The Trentino delegation was also significant, with President Delai, assessors Casagranda, Grisenti, and Molinari, as well as the mayors of Torbole and Riva, holding positions similar to those of the Brescian representatives.
Main results and decisions
The main outcome (after two and a half hours of discussion) was establishing a negotiating table centered on the Rocchetta issue, bringing together Trentino and Brescian representatives face to face.
“We agree on constructing the new tunnel,” explains President Cavalli, “because it will definitively resolve the situation at that point.” Construction could start in October of this year, ahead of schedule.
The €75 billion cost prompts Cavalli to reflect: “Between Anas, Province, and Region, we can allocate around €60 billion. That’s not insignificant, but an extraordinary effort from the State to face an investment of €300-350 billion appears increasingly urgent.”
Alternatives and risks
Few chances are given to the alternative of the Navigarda transportation service, which “does not seem capable of compensating for the absence of regular road traffic, due to structural reasons like the port of Riva or the boats themselves.” The main question—”Will the Gardesana between Limone and Riva reopen?”—remains unresolved.
“Studies presented to us show that the risks at that point are significant and not reasonable,” continues Cavalli. “The entire Trentino stretch is potentially at risk and does not justify reopening the road.
However, we raised the issue of the mortal risk faced by economic activities: a risk affecting both Brescia and Trento.” Many workers reach the Brescian shore from Trentino, and numerous Trentino wholesalers supply goods to the Brescian Alto Garda area.
Future prospects and conclusions
A key outcome, the president emphasizes, is having obtained “a technical discussion between representatives of the two communities in the hope that solutions and works can be identified to allow reopening, possibly as an alternating one-way or temporary reopening, suspending it during the off-season.”
Brescia’s next move? “To communicate within a few days to Trento the name of the academic or organization that will represent us, so that solutions can emerge from the mixed Brescia-Trentino technical commission.”