BERLIN, July 8 (Xinhua) -- The Federation of German Industries (BDI) on Monday urged for a quick solution to the dispute surrounding the Austrian Brenner Autobahn, which links Germany and Italy through the Austrian Alps.
On days with unusual high traffic volume such as prior or after public holidays, the Austrian government is only allowing up to 300 trucks per hour to cross the border into Austria.
"Instead of traffic obstructions that endanger prosperity, we need viable transport alternatives for long-distance transport between Germany and Italy," said Holger Loesch, deputy director general of the German industry association BDI.
With such block clearance measures, the Austrian government is aiming to reduce traffic congestion on Austrian motorways. However, they often lead to long traffic jams on the German side of the border.
These measures would massively hinder the free movement of goods and could cause considerable damage, stressed Loesch.
A 64-km-long Brenner Base Tunnel under the Austrian Alps is scheduled to be completed in 2025 and will be the longest railway tunnel in the world.
Railway transport could only become a suitable transport alternative on the Brenner route through Austria in the medium term, after completion of the Brenner Base Tunnel, Loesch noted.
Representatives from Austria, Germany and Italy are planning to meet on Monday, in order to seek a solution to the dispute surrounding the Brenner highway, the German press agency (dpa) reported.
The German government is currently preparing a lawsuit jointly with Italy against Austria for "massively obstructing" the free movement of goods via the "Tirol blocking", German Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer said at the end of June.
