MATREI BRENNER: A protest in Austria on Saturday against noise and pollution blocked one of Europe’s most important highways connecting Germany and Italy but early reports showed traffic disruptions were not as bad as feared.

The Brenner Pass links northern and southern Europe, with the Austrian stretch providing trans-Alpine access into Italy. Communities in Austria’s western Tyrol province have long complained about traffic on the route, especially trucks passing through the province. Several thousand protesters gathered on a stretch of the road at Matrei am Brenner on Saturday, according to a reporter at the scene.

“We want to send a message to Brussels, to the federal government in Vienna, that things absolutely cannot and must not continue like this with the constantly increasing traffic here,” organiser Karl Muehlsteiger said ahead of the protest.

“This has been an issue for a very, very long time. It’s been dragging on for years,” said Muehlsteiger, who is the mayor of Gries am Brenner.

“It is no longer manageable for the population, no longer bearable,” he added, saying pollution, noise and traffic jams were plaguing local communities like his along the highway.

To make space for the protest, authorities closed part of the highway and surrounding roads to all transit traffic from 11am local time to 7pm. Austria’s motoring club OeAMTC had warned of the possibility of “extensive traffic jams” and advised drivers to avoid travelling through Tyrol that day.

Published in Dawn, May 31st, 2026