Severe damage

Millions in damage: many roads remain closed

The work on the A9 will take even longer.

(Bild: Asfinag)

Following the severe storms at the weekend, many roads in Styria are still closed, including the Pyhrnautobahn (A9) near Übelbach. It is now expected to remain unusable until at least June 21. Rail passengers on local services between Bruck and Graz will also need to be patient for longer.

The biggest cut in the Styrian road network is certainly the closed A9 near Übelbach. Five major mudslides occurred there last weekend. The closure was initially announced until the end of the week - now it will probably last at least until June 21, i.e. a week longer. This was confirmed by Asfinag on Thursday.

The reason: there are now 20 different landslides in the section south of the Gleinalm Tunnel. If there is no further bad weather, the northbound carriageway should be fully usable from June 21, with two slightly narrower lanes planned in the southbound direction. Until then, traffic will be widely diverted via the S6 (Semmering expressway) and the S35 (Bruck expressway).

6.5 million euros in damage
The provincial road network was also badly affected. The estimated damage currently amounts to 6.5 million euros - and is sure to increase! At least there are two pieces of good news: firstly, the Rinneggerstraße (in Graz: Radegunder Straße) up to Dürrgrabenweg has been reopened and bus route 41 can run normally again.

The L123 in St. Lorenzen im Mürtztal will be reopened on Thursday.

(Bild: Land Steiermark)

Access road to Pogusch soon open again
And secondly, the L123 (Stollinggrabenstraße) in St. Lorenzen im Mürztal will be reopened on Thursday afternoon. "Fortunately, there was no serious damage this time," says Deputy Governor and Head of Transport Anton Lang (SPÖ). There was a massive landslide on the access road to Pogusch at Christmas, which took months to repair. Not far away, mud, debris and trees have now fallen onto the road again.

According to Franz Zenz, head of the provincial road service, the other closures (see info box below) will last even longer, ranging from one week to the end of the year. Bridges have not been torn down on the provincial network, but their precise assessment cannot begin until next week.

Closed state roads

• L392 Ilzbergstraße in the Ilzberg area
• B50 Burgenland road
• L422 Friedbergstraße (km 9.30 to 10)
• L423 Elsenauerstraße (km 0.0 to 0.3 and 5.9 to 6)
• L424 Schäffernstraße (km 0.0 to 3.4)
• L429 Eichbergstraße (km 0.0 to 2.0)
• L437 Hohenbruggerstraße (km 7.3)
• L455 Weinbergstraße (km 1.9 to 2.2)
• B114a Triebener Straße (Pöls junction)

Rail traffic partially shut down
Rail traffic has also been affected by the storm events. Slope stabilization work is necessary between Frohnleiten and Peggau-Deutschfeistritz stations, which can only be carried out during the day. Only long-distance services have been able to run regularly again since Thursday evening.

The closure will last much longer for local services: there will be a reduced service until Sunday and train cancellations between Graz and Bruck an der Mur are to be expected until July 4. However, replacement buses will be running during the restrictions.

On the Thermenbahn, no trips between Friedberg and Hartberg are possible until June 23. There will also be a rail replacement service here. 

Übelbacher Bahn will be at a standstill all summer
According to current estimates, the Übelbacher Bahn - operated by the state-owned Steiermarkbahn - is expected to remain closed until mid or even the end of August. "We won't have a complete picture of the damage until the end of the week, as there is still so much water coming down from the mountain. We expect the damage to be between 2.5 and 3 million euros," says Lang. He also emphasizes: "The road will be repaired in any case!" The mayor of Deutschfeistritz, Michael Viertler, has questioned the future of the railroad.