Long hot summer on the Styrian highway
Traffic on the Styrian highway between Slovenske Konjice and Dramlje will be quite concentrated in the coming months. At the end of the month, more intense work will begin, with a total of three lanes open. The most demanding works will follow in the summer, when only two lanes are open. Dars, the Ministry of Infrastructure and the Ministry of the Interior warn that there will be no detour, trucks must remain on the highway. The congestion is already.
What is promising when the motorway section on the Styrian highway was promised (from left) Interior Minister Boštjan Poklukar, Dars CEO Andrej Ribič, Minister of Infrastructure Alenka Bratušek and Mayor Darko Ratajc. Photo: Špela Kuralt/Work
CEO of Dars Andrej Ribic He explained that the renovation of the 6.5 kilometers of long section, the carriageways were 13 kilometers in both directions, planned in 2022, but fell into the water two calls. This is how they started at the end of last year, in 410 days, they will be interrupted in winter, they will renovate the carriageways for € 61.6 million, among other things, both tunnels, establish forced ventilation in tunnel pipes, repair viaducts and bridges, and set up new noise barriers.
More extensive works will follow at the end of March, when the overtaking lane will be closed in the direction of Ljubljana, the closure will last until the end of June. According to Tepanje today, traffic lanes towards Ljubljana and one towards Maribor will be open in the morning tips, and in the afternoon: two towards Maribor and one towards Ljubljana. The most demanding works will follow from the end of June, when they will renovate viaducts and tunnels. In the summer, traffic between Slovenske Konjice and Dramlje will be diverted to half of the highway, where it will be two -way along one lane in each direction. Imports to the motorway towards Ljubljana will be closed at the Slovenske Konjice connection. Next year, the carriageway towards Maribor will be closed in the summer and traffic will be redirected to the second half of the highway, where it will be two -way.
Today's deadlock on this motorway section, which is currently closed only by the lane. Photo: Marko Štor
No detour will be
Minister of Infrastructure Alenka Bratusek She explained that this section had traveled around 41,000 vehicles every day, of which 7,000 were freight. Currently, due to the works, only the lane is closed between the Slovenske Konjice connection and the naked rib tunnel, but there are already congestion. The residents of the area are ensured that many drivers will divert from the highway and will have chaos on regional roads, as the Mayor of Konjic said Darko Ratajc: “The mayors are aware that this needs to be done, but we know that it will not work without difficulty. We are already seeing an increase in traffic. ”Alenka Bratušek emphasized that there is no detour and will not be. “Trucks remain on the highway. Only those who have cargo for the local environment will be able to drive to national or local roads. I appeal to the truckers that they respect this rule and to warn colleagues abroad through their associations. «
Current work on the mentioned section Photo: Dars Archive
Interior minister Boštjan Poklukar He noted that this is a demanding section, which is one of the main corridors between Hungary and Italy. He called for tolerance and compliance with traffic regulations and emphasized that the police would be strict in sanctioning to assist them with municipal police officers. He added that there would be congestion, so it would be necessary to go sooner. As he said Zvonko Zavasnik from Dars, their traffic study shows that it will be delayed up to half an hour for highway drivers, as well as a long delay for those who will take the route on parallel roads. That is why they advise drivers to stay on the highway.
As we reported, the Celje principals are concerned about the announced works, as they fear that graduates will miss the matura. CEO of Dars Andrej Ribic He said that the most demanding works will begin at the end of June, when the graduation will be completed and that no one will have to set up a tent before school.
But now they have also appeared in the Celje Student Community with President Niko Slemenšek. We publish their letter in full:
“In the Celje Student Community, we join the concerns of principals and the general public due to the announced delays that will be created as a result of renovation works on the highway section of the Dramlje -Slovenian Konjice. We are particularly bothered by that as a regional student community with 10,000 students from the Public Passenger Transport Management Company (DUJPP), they have not again informed us of these changes, although these are changes that directly affect our students and, above all, those who take graduation this year.
In the fall, we were already witnessing great difficulties due to changes in timetables, which made students coming to school with great delays or driving home for several hours. At the time, we expected that the competent authorities would pull the doctrine from this situation and provide better organization and timely information in the future. Instead, we face new unpleasant surprises two months before graduation.
Matura is not just another test – it is a key test that has different rules from the rest. Namely, the delays are out of the question, so we should not afford that the student from the Dramelj will miss the examination due to the delay caused by Dujpp on the most important transport Konjice. Graduates will have to go on the way much earlier, but how far do we have to go? 15-20 minutes, as they say, is not encouraging. This could mean more in practice to be honest. Should they start their journey to school at four in the morning so that they will definitely be on the exam in time? Should they sleep near the school because no one can guarantee that public transportation will work flawlessly? Such a solution is pointless. We agree that systematic changes at the level of graduation on similar excesses should also be considered, but in this case we would prefer to adjust the bus lines by DUJPP in such a way that the change will not be too noticeable, or simply a delay of the works.
In DUJPP, they promise timetable adjustments, adding direct lines and increased frequency of buses in tips. But they also admit that the delays will be unpredictable and different every day. This means that graduates cannot know if they will come to the exam in a timely manner, even if they go on the road several hours earlier. In such a situation, the students expect them to maintain calmness and prepare for the exam optimally, it is not realistic. Also, not everyone follows the road conditions and will not find anything in the media or schools.
Students are an equal part of the community, so we are expecting a call from Dujpp director shortly with explanations, and in the future we are involved in informing and organizing transportation, especially with such significant changes.
We expect the competent to be planned to plan the measures thoughtfully and introduce them in a way that will minimize the students. It also takes greater flexibility in the rules of graduation, at least in a time of extensive traffic disorders that graduates cannot predict or prevent.
We are not just passengers, so we require better communication, thoughtful solutions and, above all, assurance that no one will be left without a chance to graduate due to unpredictable delays. «
