Veneto Secures Funding to Fast-Track State Road 11 Upgrade and Bypass
Cavalcaselle can finally breathe a sigh of relief. After nine years of unmet agreements, protests, and negotiations, the second draft variant of the state road 11 has become a reality. The construction site for the four and a half kilometers of highway that will connect Peschiera to Castelnuovo, bypassing the now traffic-congested neighborhood, and then connect to the highway towards Affi, could open as early as next autumn. Funding is secured, amounting to 35 billion 800 million lire, and the procedures for awarding the contract are already underway.
This achievement was possible thanks to the inclusion of the variation among the priorities of the piano stralcio Anas for 2000, a victory orchestrated by the Regione just when, for the umpteenth time, everything seemed lost. “In the end, we won over bureaucracy and managed to secure 260 billion lire for Veneto’s entire road network, convincing the State to prioritize projects ready to start construction immediately,” announced yesterday morning in Verona, in the Provincial Council chamber, the regional transport councilor Renato Chisso.
He then summarized the process: “To build the variant that will resolve the traffic issues in Benposto Lago, there was an agreement with Anas dating back to 1992. Veneto allocated over 12 billion lire of its own funds in 1994, representing 35 percent of the total amount, even though the executive project had already been submitted in 1993. It only reappeared in 1996, when Anas requested an update. Three years spent in drawers.”
“We took action, and by the end of last year, we saw that in the piano stralcio for 2000 the project was not included,” Chisso added. As a result, the focus shifted: the assessore Chisso coordinated with the relevant ministry, the President of the Regione Giancarlo Galan brought up the issue at the State-Regions Conference, the mayor of Peschiera, and Lega deputy Umberto Chincarini used parliamentary channels.
The effort bore fruit: the variant reappeared among the priorities of Anas. Last December, the Bollettino Ufficiale della Regione published the call inviting companies to participate in the tender, with submissions due by January 31, and now the phases of procurement are starting, to be awarded via private tender. “Time to finalize the contracts,” explained Giuseppe Fasiol, engineer from the Regione’s Directorate of Viability and Transport, “and according to Anas Venezia division, construction could begin this autumn.”
Some technical notes on the works: the roadway will be 10.5 meters wide; the four and a half kilometers will stretch from the Peschiera interchange eastward along the A4 highway. They will bypass Cavalcaselle and, at the planned new Castelnuovo interchange, turn north, crossing a viaduct over the railway and then over state road 11, until reaching the road to Affi.
All necessary environmental measures will also be implemented, starting with sound barriers. “The work is compatible with the solutions that Autostrade company will choose,” assured Fasiol. Regarding the construction of the new interchange, provincial transport assessor Gilberto Pozzani has guaranteed it will be completed within two years.
There are also some updates for the first draft variant of state road 11, which will link Peschiera, from the locality Bell’Italia, with the highway built by Lombardia that ends abruptly at the Veneto border, in Sirmione territory. “The executive project is nearly finished,” confirmed Chisso, “and since only Regione and Provincia will be involved here, the realization will proceed faster.”
The mayor Chincarini expressed mixed feelings: “The construction site is a victory,” he said, “but the 260 billion lire allocated by the State are hardly more than pennies.”