25 September 2025 Federal Government initiates S1 gap closure Minister of Mobility Hanke: "The S1 is necessary to secure the economic location of the entire eastern region and improve people's quality of life"

Filling the gap in the regional ring relieves the population — Smart traffic control shifts HGV transit traffic from the Südosttangente out of the city — Impulse for the Vienna-Lower Austria region to secure prosperity 

Minister of Mobility Peter Hanke and Hartwig Hufnagl, Managing Director of ASFiNAG, presented today the plans for the further procedure in the "S1 Vienna Outer Ring Expressway" project. After almost 17 years of intensive review, the gap closure of the regional ring in the north of Vienna is being launched. The S1 Vienna Outer Ring Expressway is considered the best-examined transport project in Austria. More than 20 route variants were investigated and numerous expert reports were created. The route from the Süßenbrunn junction via Raasdorf to the Schwechat junction, including a tunnel solution, is the optimal way to meet the region's requirements in terms of living and economic space. For the prosperity region Vienna-Lower Austria, with its nearly four million inhabitants, a powerful infrastructure is needed, especially in the coming decades. 

Minister of Mobility Peter Hanke stated: "I have used the past months to precisely evaluate the project in all relevant aspects. It was important to me to have a comprehensive assessment that takes into account all modes of transport as well as economic, ecological, and social aspects. Bringing together all the expert opinions and assessments makes one thing clear: The S1 is necessary to secure the economic location of the entire eastern region and improve people's quality of life. We are laying the foundation for up to 25,000 jobs, housing for 55,000 people, and relieving the residents of Vienna from HGV transit traffic. Therefore, I have decided today to hand over the S1 to ASFiNAG for implementation." 

ASFiNAG Managing Director Hartwig Hufnagl: "With the gap closure of the S1, ASFiNAG fulfills the corresponding mandate of the Republic as defined in the Federal Roads Act. The implementation starts north of the Danube with the so-called main road section from Groß-Enzersdorf to the Süßenbrunn junction. For this section, all permits are legally secure and thus incontestable. Sustainable construction is one of our core competencies, and we will prove this again with this project. At the same time, the project ensures supra-regional as well as regional added value and makes an enormous contribution to a competitive economic location in the future. It is one of the best-examined infrastructure projects of the Republic, ensuring mobility and relief." 

Comprehensive view of the project and securing supply chains

For the realization of the project, a comprehensive view of current and future traffic is crucial. This includes both transit and motorized individual traffic, which will still exist by 2040, but will be largely decarbonized. The entire region beyond the Vienna metropolitan area, namely the Vienna-Bratislava-Budapest-Prague metropolitan area with around ten million inhabitants, must be taken into account. In the coming decades, this metropolitan area will be dependent on a more powerful infrastructure due to growing requirements for supply chains, economic conditions, and housing. This question also involves the population's supply security. This entails both the expansion of roads and rail networks. Therefore, the Austrian federal government is investing approximately seven billion euros in rail infrastructure in the eastern region by 2030.

Impulses for the region, economy, housing, and jobs

The S1 is not just an infrastructure project, but also has a positive impact on the labour market and the regional economy. According to WIFO and ECO Austria, the gap closure in the regional ring secures up to 25,000 jobs. For businesses, the new axis means faster connections to international transport corridors, more reliable supply chains, and attractive location conditions for new establishments. Long term, the project brings added value of four billion euros for the Austrian location. The cost to Austria's economy from the traffic jams on the A23 is currently estimated at around 500 million euros annually. The need for swift action is therefore urgent. Furthermore, the connection provides the foundation for more than 27,000 new apartments or housing in the Donaustadt for 55,000 people and better accessibility for businesses—a key aspect for the region, as estimates predict a population growth in Vienna until 2040 to around 2.2 million inhabitants.

Region facing traffic gridlock

Nearly 200,000 vehicles cross the Vienna Südosttangente (A23) daily. Annually, there are around 900,000 transit HGVs that significantly burden Vienna and the existing road network beyond it. It is the most heavily trafficked road in Austria. According to ASFINAG, there are approximately 5.5 hours of traffic jams on average working days, affecting people and the economy. The traffic jam situation has worsened in recent years—a mid-term traffic gridlock threatens, endangering prosperity in the entire eastern region. The solution lies in relieving traffic arteries through the S1 which, like a human heart, is meant to serve as a bypass for the overloaded traffic vessels Südosttangente A23, A4, A2, A1, and S2.

"We thus rely on the bypass and create with the S1 a new, powerful connection that redirects traffic around the heart and prevents the impending traffic gridlock on the Tangente," explains Hanke. 

With the gap closure through the S1 Vienna Outer Ring Expressway, future HGV transit traffic will be directed around the city rather than through the middle of it. This brings noticeable improvements for hundreds of thousands of people in the Donaustadt and for the neighbouring communities Raasdorf, Groß-Enzersdorf, Deutsch-Wagram, Strasshof, and Gänserndorf. All Viennese who use the Tangente as a local traffic axis will benefit from this. The completed S1 also ensures more road safety, as heavy traffic will be concentrated on high-ranking roads.

Local traffic instead of long-distance in Vienna with "Tangente of the Future"

Parallel to the construction of the gap closure in the regional ring, the existing Südosttangente is being included in project considerations for the first time and conceptualised anew as the "Tangente of the Future." Federal Minister Hanke has commissioned ASFiNAG to develop a new mobility concept for the A23, optimising traffic through digitisation, real-time information, and intelligent control systems. These considerations are part of Hanke's aim to view traffic in the region comprehensively and actively shape mobility through control mechanisms for the future. Specifically, this means targeted direction of HGV transit traffic via the S1, real-time indications on overhead displays like "Time to Inzersdorf," express bus lines on dedicated lanes, and flexible traffic control in case of disruption. This way, the A23 is finally made available to the people who need it daily. For local traffic, and thus for the residents and commuters of the region. Moreover, Austria should take a pioneer role in Europe with the "Tangente of the Future" and flexible traffic management in case of disruption. The necessary revision of the "Intelligent Transport System Act" (IVS-G) for digital traffic control will be submitted for consultation by the federal government in the coming days. 

Minister of Mobility Peter Hanke sees the "Tangente of the Future" as a key building block for a powerful infrastructure in the region: "It was important to me to look beyond the regional ring too. My aim is to use new possibilities of digital systems in traffic throughout Austria to make mobility future-ready. The gap closure through the S1 Vienna Outer Ring Expressway opens entirely new paths for us on the transit traffic and traffic jam-plagued Südosttangente. We will completely relocate transit traffic from the city using intelligent traffic control. This facilitates everyday life for residents and commuters, and additionally strengthens public transport. The Tangente of the Future should be a showcase model for modern and intelligent traffic!" 

Sustainability and environmental compatibility — "The Lobau remains untouched"

The decision for the Danube-Lobau tunnel is a conscious choice to protect the sensitive ecosystem of the Danube wetlands. Not a drop of groundwater or surface water comes into contact with the tunnel construction, and the surface of the Lobau remains untouched. In addition, green bridges, low-noise construction methods and climate-friendly materials are used to make the project as environmentally friendly as possible. 

Federal Minister Peter Hanke: "I take the concerns about climate and nature very seriously. Our goal remains climate neutrality by 2040. The Lobau remains untouched. The tunnel section begins before the national park and ends afterwards. No excavator will cross this national park, and no tree will be felled in it." 

Decision based on extensive evaluation

The decision for the project was preceded by a comprehensive evaluation, commissioned by a resolution request in the National Council and the government programme in the Ministry for Innovation, Mobility and Infrastructure (BMIMI). In this renewed assessment, economic, transport planning, demographic, labour market policy and social aspects were included. The outcome clearly confirms that the S1 gap closure is an indispensable solution to set necessary economic impulses in the region and solve traffic challenges. Without this project, a traffic gridlock threatens the Südosttangente due to increasing motorised individual and transit traffic. Moreover, without a powerful connection in the Vienna metropolitan area, a mid-term location disadvantage for the whole region is imminent. 

Hanke confirms: "The current situation, where traffic jams on the Südosttangente cause an annual damage of around 500 million euros to Austria's economy and neighbours as well as commuters suffer from massive traffic overload, is unacceptable. A solution free from ideology and based on facts is needed for this challenge instead of blockade politics. The comprehensive processing of the project, the legally binding environmental impact assessment permit, and the evaluation results, combined with a clear digital future vision that is close to the people, form the foundation for the decision to initiate the gap closure in the regional ring and thereby lay the cornerstone for the Tangente of the Future."