by InTrieste
The regional government of Friuli Venezia Giulia has announced a series of emergency measures to manage heavy traffic disruptions caused by the closure of Slovenia’s H4 expressway, a key cross-border artery.
Regional Infrastructure Councillor Cristina Amirante said Thursday that the administration responded “with timeliness and efficiency,” in some cases stepping in where other authorities were slowed by procedural hurdles. She emphasized that the region’s efforts were carried out in close cooperation with Slovenia and Italy’s Prefecture, helping to minimize economic fallout and traffic delays.
The temporary closure of the H4 has funneled thousands of additional trucks and cars into Italy, creating bottlenecks at the Fernetti border crossing and at the Lisert tollgate on the A4 motorway near Trieste. According to Amirante, the region allocated €500,000 and worked with Autostrade Alto Adriatico, the motorway operator, to quickly prepare and contract a plan to improve infrastructure around the crossing.
The works, scheduled to begin in early September, include the resurfacing of 7,300 square meters of roadway. The project will create two separate parking areas — one for trucks and another for passenger vehicles — to allow border police to conduct checks more safely and efficiently. The internal road link to the interport will also be repaved, giving private cars an alternative route onto the A4. Once completed, the upgrades will allow for an expansion to two lanes at the crossing, easing congestion particularly for cross-border commuters, who have been caught in queues behind an average of 3,000 additional trucks per day since the H4 closure.
In addition, the regional government has earmarked €550,000 to subsidize tolls for heavy vehicles traveling between Lisert and Villesse, and to provide free parking at the Gorizia logistics hub. Autostrade Alto Adriatico, under the supervision of the national commissioner for the A4, has also suspended some construction works to relieve traffic and completed an additional nine kilometers of a third lane, which authorities say is already reducing congestion.
Amirante dismissed opposition criticism of the regional government’s role, underscoring instead what she described as a pragmatic response that avoided “political instrumentalization.” She noted that while rail upgrades have slowed due to European budget constraints, the road interventions at Fernetti are expected to be finished by the end of September.
