Austria’s government confirmed on Thursday it will move forward with a long-disputed motorway project that includes an eight-kilometer tunnel beneath the Lobau national park, reigniting fierce debate over the balance between infrastructure and environmental protection.
The decision ends years of delays marked by protests and legal battles. In 2021, the Greens, then part of the governing coalition, halted construction and ordered a review of all new motorway projects in an effort to safeguard the park’s rare wildlife and fragile ecosystem.
First proposed in the early 2000s, the project aims to ease traffic congestion east of Vienna. Plans call for a new expressway junction and the controversial tunnel under the Lobau, which forms part of the Danube-Auen National Park, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.
Environmental groups warn that the tunnel would fragment habitats, threaten biodiversity, and undermine Vienna’s pledge to pursue more sustainable transport solutions.
Infrastructure Minister Peter Hanke defended the project, calling it “the most efficient way to meet the living and economic requirements” of Vienna and Lower Austria. He said a comprehensive review had shown “no alternative” to the plan, which he argued would provide vital economic momentum while addressing the region’s transport challenges.
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