Spange Wörth opponents challenge approval in Austria’s top courts

Opponents of the Spange Wörth connection road are appealing its approval to Austria’s Constitutional Court and Administrative Court, ORF reported Monday. The road is part of the planned S34 Traisental expressway.

The environmental organisation VIRUS, the Lebenswertes Traisental association, the citizens’ initiative Nein zur Spange Wörth and 26 farmers are supporting the constitutional complaint, VIRUS said.

The Federal Administrative Court approved construction in July subject to additional conditions. The 1.69-kilometre, four-lane road is intended to connect the B20 at St Pölten with the planned S34.

The project cannot yet be implemented. Lower Austria, which is proposing the project, must first select the land required and then apply for an amendment approval under the Environmental Impact Assessment Act.

VIRUS says the court’s decision is unlawful. The Administrative Court will have to consider, among other issues, whether approval can be granted subject to a requirement for a prior amendment procedure.

The complaint to the Constitutional Court concerns alleged violations of constitutionally guaranteed rights. Wolfgang Rehm, VIRUS’s case manager, said the project was decided by an authority that was not responsible for it. He said the Federal Administrative Court had initially taken the same view before changing its position.

Rehm also said VIRUS had challenged an approved extension of deadlines for the S34. The organisation argues that the decisions concerning the S34 contain a flaw under European Union law, meaning the deadline-extension decision is not legally final.

The Spange Wörth and the S34 are legally separate projects, but are connected in terms of traffic and the natural environment. Positive, legally final decisions had already been issued for the S34.