Zell bypass opened, a lot of criticism
Residents of an adjacent settlement have protested against the bypass for years because they fear it will put a great strain on their residential area. On peak days, up to 28,000 vehicles drive through the Zell district of Schüttdorf.
Responsible politicians excited
The new route should intercept a third of the traffic on Pinzgauer Straße. It now leads from Mittersiller Strasse to Pinzgauer Strasse, as Zeller Mayor Andreas Wimmreuter (SPÖ) describes: “We had the most traffic jams, especially in the peak season. I am assuming that these traffic jams will be gone with this commissioning.”
Transport Councilor Stefan Schnöll (ÖVP) emphasizes that this gives commuters a lot of life back: “The relief figures speak a clear language.”
Some strong criticism from locals
However, the residents in the Zellermoos district of Zell now fear a major burden. For ten years they fought against the bypass project, as resident Roswitha Klaushofer describes: “It’s bad that the road was brought up to the residential area. Places have been calmed down where there is no residential area, but where there was a lot of traffic. It has been reassured, and with us the opposite is the case.”
Traffic Councilor Schnöll sees it differently: “It’s about flood protection, pedestrians, cyclists and the relief effect for the entire Oberpinzgau. That’s why we took the step.”
Cyclist transition a bad plan?
There is also criticism of the pedestrian and bicycle crossing that lies along the Tauern Cycle Path. Not enough space, too winding, too confusing, as local resident Irene Rieder-Schroll emphasizes: “This crossing is very difficult for cyclists to approach. The traffic light is on the left. This query is messed up. One wonders what kind of mind these planners were.”
Master baker Wolfgang Bauer in Mühlbach am Hochkönig (Pongau) is also dissatisfied. Right next to the new ring road and the Zeller airport, he runs a branch of his bakery chain that is well frequented by locals and guests. Bauer criticizes that this area of the Zell district and large parts of the commercial area have now been de facto separated from the airfield area.
Commercial area cut off?
There is now no longer a direct pedestrian crossing, says master baker Bauer: “Neither an overpass nor an underpass were planned. No crosswalk. Many passers-by are now standing at the guardrail and wondering whether the planners of this traffic route should be on good terms with the population and the local economy? So far we have had many hikers, pedestrians and cyclists – also passengers and pilots who also came to us from the airport area.
Political reference to flood protection
Despite these comments, the responsible politicians are convinced of the deep meaning of the project. The new relief road should not only equalize the volume of traffic. They also bring an additional flood protection dam for the Zell basin. With a filling quantity of two million cubic meters, the state councilor responsible for water management, Josef Schwaiger (ÖVP), says: “It is an area of 250 hectares that can be flooded. A loss of more than 250 million euros could be prevented last year.”
The new road section is 1.5 kilometers long. The state of Salzburg has invested 20 million euros. A third of the road was built on the flood protection dam.