Tyrol closes local roads to drivers avoiding traffic jams. Bans start on 1 May

From 1 May, seasonal traffic bans will return in Tyrol for drivers trying to bypass traffic jams by using local roads. The restrictions will remain in force until 1 November 2026 and will cover selected regional and municipal roads, including an expanded area in the Kufstein district.

From 1 May 2026, summer traffic bans will once again apply in Tyrol to drivers who try to avoid congestion on main routes by using local roads. The restrictions will cover selected sections of regional and municipal roads, and this year they will also be extended in the Kufstein district.

The holiday season means an increase in transit and tourist traffic in the Alps. For this reason, the Tyrolean authorities have decided to reintroduce traffic bans for so-called bypass traffic on lower-category roads. This measure has been used since 2019 and is intended to protect local communities from excessive vehicle traffic leaving main routes in search of alternative roads.

The bans will apply from 1 May to 1 November 2026 inclusive. They will cover selected sections of regional and municipal roads that are important for road safety and for supplying Tyrolean municipalities. The restrictions will be in force on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, as well as on certain bridge days, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

The Tyrolean authorities stress that the aim is not to block local traffic, but to direct transit and tourist vehicles onto the main transport routes. The bans are intended to prevent situations in which drivers, often guided by navigation systems, leave motorways and main roads, putting pressure on the local road network in towns and villages located along popular travel routes.

The restrictions will apply primarily to selected lower-category roads in the Innsbruck metropolitan area and in the districts of Reutte, Imst and Kufstein. In the districts of Innsbruck-Stadt, Innsbruck-Land, Imst and Reutte, the system will operate in the already tested manner. The new element in the 2026 season is the expanded measures in the Kufstein district. In this area, in addition to the existing summer bans, restrictions will also be introduced on Wildbichler Straße towards Ebbs and on municipal roads in Walchsee.

As Tyrol’s transport councillor René Zumtobel explains, the situation in these locations has worsened in recent years on days with particularly heavy traffic. The expansion of the bans is intended to respond to the needs of municipalities and to help maintain road safety and supply chains.

Tyrol’s governor Anton Mattle says the region wants to protect towns and villages located along heavily used routes from transit traffic. As he emphasises, the aim is to manage traffic and limit detour journeys via local roads. According to the Tyrolean authorities, traffic flows are being analysed across the entire federal state in order to limit as effectively as possible the practice of bypassing traffic jams through the local road network.

The bans do not apply to all vehicles using local roads. People living along these routes, as well as destination and origin traffic, are exempt from the restrictions. This means that access will remain possible, among others, for residents, guests arriving at or leaving a given location, and goods deliveries. The restrictions are intended mainly to cover drivers using local roads as an alternative transit route.

Checks will be carried out by the police and by public order services appointed by the federal state of Tyrol. Vehicles covered by the ban are to be redirected back to the main transport routes. The authorities also announce the use of traffic management measures, including traffic lights regulating vehicle flow in selected locations.