After rockfall

Excursions to Bielerhöhe to be possible soon

Tourists should hike around the rockfall on the popular Silvretta High Alpine Road

(Bild: Illwerke VKW)

Around 60,000 cubic meters of rock recently fell onto the Silvretta High Alpine Road, which will be closed for a few more weeks. The owner, illwerke vkw, now wants to build a hiking trail around the cone of rubble so that tourists can also reach the Bielerhöhe from the Vorarlberg side.

The debris flow that occurred a week ago on Saturday buried three to four meters of the Silvretta-Hochalpenstraße road in the area of bends 13 and 14 over a length of 135 meters. A much smaller mudslide in the same area had already necessitated a road closure the day before, which was still in place on Saturday. No one was caught in the mass of earth and there were no injuries. According to initial estimates, the road will probably be impassable until the fall.

Buses to the rubble cone
The plan presented by the road owners on Monday evening envisages people being taken to the landslide by public transport, walking along a short hiking trail below the debris cone and then boarding another bus coming from the Bielerhöhe (2032 meters). In this way, tourists could also reach the Bielerhöhe from the Vorarlberg side. The Tyrolean section of the Silvretta-Hochalpenstraße is open anyway.

Silvretta High Alpine Road

The 22.3-kilometre connecting road to Tyrol is particularly popular with day-trippers. It leads from Gaschurn/Partenen to Galtür and winds its way through high alpine terrain in 34 hairpin bends. The winter closure of the connection only ended this year on June 15.

But the road is also to be repaired as quickly as possible. This week, illwerke vkw will submit an elaborate variant for clearing and securing the road to the authorities. "Once official approval has been granted, the construction machinery will be ready for immediate implementation," said the energy provider optimistically. To alleviate the situation, the Güterweggenossenschaft has also opened the Ganifer goods road for the duration of the restoration work with a special permit for commuter car traffic.