Court unlikely to decide A2 speed limit case before 2027

A decision on the 80 km/h speed limit on the A2 motorway near Wiener Neudorf is unlikely before 2027, ORF reports. The Constitutional Court has confirmed it received a request from the Lower Austria Administrative Court to annul the entire speed-limit regulation as unlawful.

The Constitutional Court typically first asks the parties involved to submit statements, a process for which they are usually given eight weeks. A draft decision is then prepared for the judges to consider. The 80 km/h limit will remain in force unless the court annuls it.

The Lower Austria Administrative Court has raised concerns about a regulation issued in December 2024. It says the speed limit was extended beyond the stretch identified as necessary in a noise assessment, without sufficient justification.

The case began with a driver’s appeal against a 35-euro fine. The driver was recorded travelling at 90 km/h in an 80 km/h zone near Vösendorf in December 2025. The administrative court suspended the appeal proceedings and referred the matter to the Constitutional Court.

Wiener Neudorf Mayor Herbert Janschka warned in a blog that lifting the limit would be a “health catastrophe”. He said the restriction had been introduced after years of efforts by the municipality to protect residents from traffic noise and pollutants. Janschka also argued that the length of the zone was necessary because traffic noise reached residential areas from different directions.

According to Janschka’s blog, around 20,000 residents and more than 10,000 people who commute to the region daily could face increased exposure if the regulation is annulled. The mobility ministry, led by the Social Democrats, told ORF on Friday that it had not yet received documents from the Constitutional Court and therefore did not know the specific grounds of the complaint.

Udo Landbauer, the Freedom Party’s deputy governor responsible for transport, welcomed the court referral. He said he hoped the Constitutional Court would “step on the accelerator” and restore “free travel for free citizens”.