Tyrol records 57 days of truck metering on A12

Truck traffic near Kufstein was controlled on 57 days last year, the highest number recorded in a single year, according to ORF. Accidents, roadworks and severe weather led to 21 additional metering days, while 258 hours of traffic controls were recorded in total.

Heavy goods traffic through Tyrol has increased almost every year. On particularly busy days, trucks travelling from Bavaria are restricted at Kufstein-Nord on the A12 Inntal motorway. The previous year saw around 200 hours of truck metering.

Controls limit truck flow

When the controls are active, usually only about 250 to 300 trucks per hour are allowed to pass. The measure is intended to improve road safety and prevent traffic from collapsing on the already heavily congested motorway.

In addition to fixed metering days around holidays and vacation periods, the controls can be introduced or extended at short notice during exceptional traffic situations.

Eleven days planned for early 2027

The Tyrol state government has set 11 high risk traffic days for the first quarter of 2027. The dates include one Thursday and 10 Mondays. The controls are scheduled to begin in the early morning at Kufstein-Nord.

The planned dates are January 7, 11, 18 and 25; February 1, 8, 15 and 22; and March 1, 8 and 15.

The dates were selected following an analysis by traffic experts, the state government said. Traffic forecasts, police reports, previous experience and traffic figures from earlier years were taken into account. High truck volumes are expected on the A12, along with increased car traffic on the Inntal and Brenner motorways.

Tyrol Governor Anton Mattle of the Austrian People’s Party said the burden caused by transit traffic had long exceeded the limits for people, nature and infrastructure. The controls were intended to maintain traffic and supply security on particularly busy days and to separate car and truck traffic as far as possible.

The planned measures have been communicated to the authorities concerned in Austria and abroad. They have also been coordinated with ASFINAG’s construction management, particularly regarding work on the Lueg Bridge, said Transport Councillor Rene Zumtobel of the Social Democratic Party.

The duration of each control will depend on traffic conditions. Police are expected to maintain the restrictions only for as long as necessary. Last year, each metering period lasted an average of about four and a half hours.