Scandal around Wancktunnel: Citizens are calling for better planning in Garmisch!

Scandal around Wancktunnel: Citizens are calling for better planning in Garmisch!

Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Deutschland - In Garmisch-Partenkirchen, a planned major project ensures excitement and discussions. The Wancktunnel, which is to extend over 3.6 kilometers and should cost a price of 365 million euros, significantly reduce through traffic on the B2 towards Innsbruck. The vehicles are stuck, especially on weekends and during holidays, which leads to a high burden on the residents. In order for the plans for the tunnel to progress, the State Building Office Weilheim has already initiated the planning approval process. However, the critics from the ranks of the conservationists and residents are loud and express sharp concerns about the generous access roads and the entire traffic system. This is what Axel Döring, the nature conservation chief, calls the planned design an "absolute, total disaster" and criticizes above all the complex traffic situation that is in the north of the tunnel.

What exactly does the residents expect? A complex traffic node with several circular reversals and descents in the north is supposed to lead the traffic, while the access in the south is to be expanded for four lanes - this makes a total of six tracks. The residents fear not only an increase in traffic, but also a significant noise pollution and the loss of meadow areas. The local political ranks are also concerned: Mayor Michael Fessenmayer and third mayor Gerhard Portele sharply criticize the traffic routing. Mayor Elisabeth Koch also emphasized the need for better planning for foot and bike traffic and pleads for careful landscape design so as not to endanger the beauty of the area.

planning framework and necessity

The Wancktunnel is determined in the Federal Transport Infrastructure Plan 2030 as a bypass for Garmisch-Partenkirchen (Partenkirchen district) and has been shown to have a benefit-cost ratio of 3.8, which underlines the importance of the project. With this measure, the highly stressed passage through the federal road 2 is to be relieved by 40 to 50 %. This total measure was approved by the Federal Ministry of Transport in 2022, and planning is now continuously progressing. The current project status is: Everything has been in the planning phase since the planning approval process was opened on May 5, 2025.

A fresh look at the underground planning: The tunnel will not only improve the traffic conditions, but also increase traffic safety through incoming design planning for tunnel and bridge structures as well as the traffic facilities and improve the long-distance connection of the main road. The planning of the state building also aims to reduce existing environmental impairments. The project is based on modern standards, has a bike tube in oncoming traffic and a navigable rescue stollen, and requirements regarding sustainability were observed in accordance with the demands on modern infrastructure.

sustainability in focus

How to proceed? The planning documents for the Wancktunnel have been sent to the government of Upper Bavaria since March 6, 2025. The preliminary objections are possible by July 4, 2025 and will significantly influence the further planning. It remains exciting to see how the concerns of the citizens and conservationists flow into the final plans and whether the need for better traffic and a sensitive design of the landscape can actually be implemented.