Stau-chaos ahead! Long weekend brings travel wave and big events

Stau-chaos ahead! Long weekend brings travel wave and big events

On August 12, 2025, a long weekend begins in Austria, which is accompanied by an elevated wave of travel. The occasion are both the holiday return and two large events, the Frequency Festival in Sankt Pölten and the MotoGP on the Red Bull Ring. The ARBÖ already warns of possible hours of traffic jams that could influence the road traffic conditions. The travel wave starts on Thursday, August 15th, and a high traffic volume in the Vienna, Linz, Salzburg and Graz metropolitan area is expected. The main traffic axes and popular excursion routes such as the West Autobahn (A1), the South Autobahn (A2), the Ostautobahn (A4) and the Tauernautobahn (A10).

Inner -city main roads are in addition to needle tubes. The particularly contaminated sections include Wiener Altmannsdorfer Straße and Kärntner Straße in Graz. Causes are particularly expected on classic holiday routes on Friday and Saturday. Problematic points include the Pyhrnautobahn (A9) in front of tunnel portals, the St. Michael (A10), the Karawankent tunnel (A11), the Kufstein/Kiefersfelden (A12) and the burner highway (A13). The Fernpassstraße (B179) and Zillertalstraße (B169) are also affected, which must be led to block handling.

major events provide additional traffic

A central event is the Frequency Festival in Sankt Pölten, which takes place from Wednesday to Friday and attracts more than 180,000 visitors. The journey could be problematic for many, especially on the West Autobahn (A1) and Mariazeller Straße (B20). In order to cope with the rush, the ÖBB and the Westbahn offer an increased offer and shuttle buses.

traffic forecasts and plans for congestion avoidance

The situation on the streets is already tightened by the return of holiday traffic from Hesse, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland. The third weekend in August is predicted as challenging for drivers, especially in regions where the holiday season is coming to an end. The ADAC reports on numerous motorway construction sites - almost 1250 - which are contaminated with reduced lanes. Full closures such as on the A8 between Stuttgart and Karlsruhe have also been announced, which can be expected even more difficult to return.

In addition, the top peak times for traffic jams are usually recorded on Friday afternoon, Saturday morning and Sunday afternoon. Nevertheless, there are also quieter days: traffic could be less stressed from Tuesday to Thursday. The BMV (Federal Ministry of Transport) refers to the increasing challenges in the transport sector and regularly publishes statistics to inform citizens about traffic in numbers.

Overall, the signs for a busy weekend are not particularly good. Travelers should prepare for longer waiting times and consider the possibility of using public transport.

For more information about the traffic data and statistics in Germany, the standard work "Traffic in Numbers" of the BMV can be viewed, which offers a comprehensive overview of the mobility -related topics.