The construction site summer not only causes obstructions and detours in the city center of Graz. From next week there will also be a construction site on the Pyhrnautobahn (A 9) on the city limits, which could cause trouble. The Seiersberg junction is being completely renovated, and the exit to the north will remain closed for four weeks.
Signs at the Graz-West node have been announcing the closure from the beginning of August for days. Asfinag has now provided information about the construction project. This motorway connection is almost 30 years old, so the general renovation is necessary, according to Asfinag spokeswoman Alexandra Vucsina-Valla. “From the guardrail to the lower structure of the road, everything is being completely rebuilt,” she explains, explaining the initial construction time of four weeks.
Smaller and larger detours
In August, anyone coming from the junction and wanting to drive to Shopping City Seiersberg or the surrounding hardware and specialty stores will first be sent to the Webling distribution circle on a signposted detour and then back to the Seiersberg exit on the opposite lane. This can be annoying, especially when there is a backlog in front of Webling – for example when the Plabutsch tunnel is blocked. Several traffic lights also slow down the flow of traffic.
The Seiersberg descent remains closed for four weeks © Reinhard Nunner
This construction site should be completed at the beginning of September, after which there will be a two-week break “out of consideration for the start of school,” the highway company said. Then it is the turn of the southbound junction. Six weeks are planned for the renovation. The signposted diversion then takes drivers via the A 2 to the Unterpremstätten semi-connection and back to the newly renovated exit. That’s a few more kilometers detour. Those familiar with the area will avoid the autobahn anyway and drive to the shopping center via Kärntnerstrasse or Neuseiersberger Strasse.
Mayor: “Can live with it”
Asfinag emphasizes that the construction process for the renewal of the roadway, safety equipment, signage and drainage was kept tight in order to keep the restrictions as short and minimal as possible. The community and affected companies were informed in advance. Mayor Werner Baumann (SPÖ) also confirms this: “Of course there are impairments from the construction site, but we can live with it, as it is regulated. The renovation is necessary. It’s good that it starts in the summer,” says the local manager.
The section of the A 9 between Webling and Graz-West had already been completely renovated in 2005. In the course of the renovation of the A 2 between the Graz-Ost and West junctions, the turning lane to Seiersberg was extended to the motorway junction in 2018.