Gigantic Pentecost backlog: 25 kilometers standing on the A10!

Gigantic Pentecost backlog: 25 kilometers standing on the A10!

On Sunday, June 8, 2025, the Salzburg region experienced a special kind of car traffic chaos. A traffic jam of around 25 kilometers made progress for numerous travelers. The reason for this was not only the Pentecost travel, but also a tunnel construction site on the Tauern Autobahn (A10) near Golling, which turned out to be bottled neck. As reported [VOL.AT] (https://www.vol.at/immer-noch-25-kilometer-stau-im-pfingreise traffic/9462683), the waiting times were already more than three hours at 11:00 a.m.

Alfred Obermayr from the ÖAMTC mobility information described that it was a continuous traffic jam that lasted from Thursday evening to Sunday. He had never experienced anything like this in 25 years. The situation in front of the tunnel construction site in Golling was particularly precarious, where only one trace was available in every direction. On Saturday, the traffic jam even reached a length of over 45 kilometers from Golling via the Walserberg to Bavaria.

Austria's traffic situation at Pentecost

Despite the intensive traffic in Salzburg, the rest of Austria mostly remained calm. In Tyrol there was also tough traffic on the Fernpass route (B179) on Sunday morning, while drivers lost about an hour on the Brenner Autobahn (A13). However, the ÖAMTC expected the traffic to relax from the early afternoon, especially through the influx from Germany.

The Whitsun weekend shows once again how holidays affect travel behavior. According to ADAC, there are considerable traffic jams, especially on Friday, June 6th, and Monday, June 9th. Especially on Pentecost Sunday, this day was considered the best day of travel, which attracted many drivers from federal states with an extended weekend of Pentecost to the Alps and other target regions.

construction sites and congestion forecasts

The highways in Germany were also severely affected. Here the travel time at Pentecost on routes such as the A1, A2 and A10 has already led to traffic jams and traffic problems. The interaction of construction sites in Austria, such as on the burner highway, contributed to the difficulties. Of course, border controls have also been an issue since the end of May that can cause waiting times at the transitions. The new regulations for the formation of a rescue alley also play a role here, the disregard of which can be punished with fines of up to 320 euros, such as OEAMTC.AT.