Traffic jam nightmare at Pentecost: Travelers were stuck for hours on Saturday, especially on the way south, while climate protests caused additional trouble.
At Pentecost, holidaymakers are drowning in traffic chaos: Not only do travelers on the way south find themselves stuck in kilometer-long traffic jams on the Tauern motorway in Salzburg and Tyrol, but also in northern Germany, traffic is causing problems for travelers on the A1 and A7 motorways. The ÖAMTC reported delays of up to five hours on Austrian roads, while the ADAC forecast further major traffic jams for Whit Monday.
According to ORF, drivers in Salzburg and Tyrol could hardly move. On the first strong travel weekend, which was further intensified by the flow of holidaymakers from Germany’s Whitsun holidays, a 28-kilometer-long traffic jam temporarily formed on the A10 – the Tauern Autobahn.
Construction sites with single-lane traffic lead to significant delays. The travelers had to be patient and expect to lose three to five hours of time. The area between Golling andwerfen, where a tunnel is being renovated, was particularly affected.
The traffic jam was further strained by climate activists from the “Last Generation” group. In an effort to draw attention to the climate crisis, they stuck themselves on key roads in Austria, including the Tauern Autobahn. There were blockages in Vorarlberg and at the Fern Pass in Tyrol, and a diversion was only possible to a limited extent, which caused violent reactions from some drivers.
Things didn’t look any better in northern Germany. The NDR reports slow traffic on the A7 and A1 around Hamburg on Saturday. The sections of the A7 near Hamburg were particularly affected, where tunnel construction sites and an accident combined to create a bottleneck. The ADAC lost at least 45 minutes of time here. Travelers also had to accept longer waiting times on the A1 in Schleswig-Holstein, especially when traveling towards the Baltic Sea or Denmark.
The situation on German motorways is unlikely to ease at the end of the Whitsun weekend. The ADAC predicts further major traffic jams for Whit Monday. A large number of vacationers are expected as many federal states have school holidays or are still on vacation.
Holidaymakers are drawn to the coasts of the North and Baltic Seas as well as to the mountains. Popular destinations are the Bay of Lübeck in Schleswig-Holstein and Western Pomerania. According to ADAC, highways in these regions will be particularly crowded. The journey to Sylt also promises to require a lot of patience.
