Thousands of locals blocked Austria's Brenner highway on Saturday, a vital north-south corridor between Germany and Italy through the Alps, in a protest against the trucks and tourists that constantly clog their roads, Reuters wrote.
The demonstration was led by Karl Muehlsteiger, the mayor of Gries am Brenner, one of the towns in the area of the road.
The problem of excessive traffic and pollution in the Wipp Valley, which leads to the Brenner Pass, has been a source of tension between Austria and Germany for decades. Authorities in the Austrian state of Tyrol have introduced various measures to reduce the flow, often sparking protests across the border.
“Write history!” Muehlsteiger was quoted as saying by the APA news agency. The mayor urged the approximately 3,000 protesters to symbolically block the highway, a few hours after the police closed the two ends of the corridor. The cars that arrived there turned back.
The closure lasted eight hours and did not cause the chaos many had feared, as motorists largely followed advice to avoid the area.
Local media reported that trains passing through the area were crowded.
The provincial road that runs from one town to another along the highway was opened only to local residents and local traffic.
