Press
Massive rock falls on Lake Garda are a risk. The famous “James Bond” panoramic road is in danger of collapsing.
Tremosine – Lake Garda – Lago di Garda – is a place of longing for many holidaymakers. The steep rock walls frame the deep blue, crystal clear water on the west coast. A drive along one of the mountain roads or riverside roads around Italy’s largest lake is spectacular. However, the “Strada della Forra” – SP 35 is currently closed. The situation there is extremely delicate. The entire slope is unstable.
Lake Garda: Entire slope unstable – “Strada della Forra” remains closed
A reopening of the “Strada della Forra” known to many from the James Bond film “Quantum of Solace” is out of the question. Not just some rocks, but the entire slope – tens of thousands of cubic meters of rock – could slide without warning, reports ildolomiti.it. According to the latest analyzes by experts, opening the road to traffic would be too big. Initial assessments with drones have therefore been confirmed.
“The responsible geological and technical studies have confirmed that the state of danger and high risk remains,” quoted gironaledibrescia.it a current letter from the province.
Gloomy forecast for the “eighth wonder of the world” on Lake Garda – “Strada della Forra”
Gloomy forecasts for the residents of the area and also Lake Garda holidaymakers. The street is a tourist attraction. Winston Churchill is said to have described the road as the 8th wonder of the world during a holiday on Lake Garda in 1949.
However, the spectacular mountain road “Strada della Forra” has been closed for months as a result of a rock fall. A huge rock avalanche occurred last December near the municipality of Tremosine, south of Limone. The thousands of cubic meters of rocks poured into the lake. Luckily no one was injured at that time.
Rockfall on Lake Garda exacerbates the situation – tunnel wall extremely thinned
Geologists on behalf of the Province of Brescia Since then, we have been trying to get a complete picture of the rock face. The tunnel itself is also being examined. The so-called tunnel crown seems to be a main problem: “At the tunnel, the rock wall that served as a pillar of the slope has been thinned to a very thin thickness of only one meter and has therefore lost a large part of its supporting strength,” says a message after one Meeting of those responsible in January.
According to the Municipality of Tremosine different scenarios: an implosion from above with the collapse of the vault and a collapse of the tunnel downwards. It is therefore unclear whether the tunnel can be structurally reinforced or whether a new tunnel must be built on the current route.
Geologists warn about rock slides for a special reason
Despite active monitoring, rockfalls, unlike landslides, did not trigger an alarm signal before the event. Switching traffic lights to block the road from a rock slide is not an option. The “Strada delle Forra” has no escape routes and the safety of people cannot be guaranteed.
It remains to be seen when the “Strada della Forra” will be open to traffic again. A meeting between those responsible for the province of Brescia and the municipality of Tremosine is scheduled for June. In the summer of 2023, an SUV caused a kilometer-long traffic jam on the iconic road. Just last year, a series of rock falls in the Alps made headlines. (ml)
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