The Hungarian-Slovak border crossing closed to HGV traffic
On April 17, due to renovation works on the main road No. 13 in Slovakia, the Vámosszabadi-Medvedov border crossing will be closed to lorries with a MAM over 3,5 tons.
Passenger cars and buses will be allowed to cross the border, but HGV traffic will be diverted to Komárom along the main road No. 14 in Hungary.
❗ Trucks in on the Hungarian side of the border will be able to use the following diversion route: road No. 14 -> road No. 813 -> M19 motorway -> M1 motorway – road No. 13. The diversion route will be marked with yellow signs. Lorries can use the section of road No. 14 from the junction with road No. 813 to the border at Vámosszabadi only when their destination point is located in this area.
Catalonia: additional restrictions on the AP-7
Additional restrictions for vehicles or combinations of vehicles with a maximum authorised mass of more than 7.5 ton apply on 28, 29 April and on 1 May
On Friday, 28 April from 3:00 PM to 9:00 PM:
⭕ between KP 126, exit 12B in La Roca del Vallès, Granollers and the connection with the C-60 road, in the municipality of La Roca del Vallés, and KP 172, exit 25 in Martorell and the connection with the A-2 motorway, in the municipality of Martorell, lorries are required to use the right lane and must not overtake other vehicles and drive faster than 80 km/h.
⭕ between KP 172, exit 25 in Martorell and the junction with the A-2, in the municipality of Martorell, and KP 176.6, exit 26 in Gelida and Sant Llorenç d’Hortons, southbound lorries are required to use the right lane and must not overtake other vehicles.
On Saturday, April 29, from 09:00 AM to 2:00 PM:
⭕ between KP 172, exit 25 in Martorell and the junction with the A-2, in the municipality of Martorell, and KP 176.6, exit 26 in Gelida and Sant Llorenç d’Hortons, southbound lorries are required to use the right lane and must not overtake other vehicles.
On Monday, 1 May, from 3:00 PM to 10:00 PM:
⭕ With the creation of a lane in the opposite direction between KP 111.1, exit 11 at Sant Celoni and Montseny, in the municipality of Sant Celoni, and KP 133.8, exit 13 at Granollers, Montornés del Vallés and Vilanova del Vallés, lorries (over 7,5 tons) are required to use the right lane and must not overtake other vehicles and drive faster than 80 km/h.
⭕ For the same reason, due to the planned creation of lanes in the opposite direction between KP 213 of the AP-7 motorway, where AP-7 joins AP-2, in the municipality of Banyeres del Penedès and KP 8 of the B-23 road, exit 8 at Sant Feliu de Llobregat and Molins de Rei Sur, lorries (over 7,5 tons) are required to use the right lane and must not overtake other vehicles and drive faster than 80 km/h.
⭕ With the creation of a lane in the opposite direction on the C-32 motorway, between KP 114, exit 113 in Canet de Mar, and KP84.5, the junction with B-20 in Montgat, lorries (over 7,5 tons) are required to use the right lane and must not overtake other vehicles and drive faster than 80 km/h.
Slovakia: an exemption from the HGV driving ban
The Presidium of the Police of the Slovak Republic has granted a general exemption from the HGV driving ban on 1 and 8 May.
The exemption applies to all heavy goods vehicles traveling on motorways, first class roads and roads with international traffic, arriving in Slovakia from some neighboring countries and heading for destinations (e.g. company headquarters or place of unloading) located within Slovakia.
Get in touch with your ferry operator – potetial disurption at Border controls in Calais, Dunkirk and Coquelles
The Public and Commercial Service (PCS) union has announced Civil Service industrial action that will impact Border Force operations.
The strike, scheduled to take place on April 28 and 29 until 7am, will impact those travelling to the UK from UK Border controls in Calais, Dunkirk and Coquelles in Northern France.
Hauliers who are moving goods during the proposed strike action should be prepared for potential disruption and longer queues at Ports and Inland Border Facilities.
Please check with your operator before travelling, be prepared for delays and carefully plan your movements if they coincide with days of strike action.
Hungary: a change in the the HGV driving ban during the first May weekend
At the request of the Hungarian Road Transport Association (MKFE), the Ministry of Transport has agreed to grant two night-time exemptions from the HGV driving ban.
With these so-called „nighttime windows“, the driving ban for vehicles with a GVW over 7.5 tons applies as follows:
✅ April 30 (Sunday) from 06:00 to 22:00
✅ May 1st (Monday) from 06:00 to 22:00
A strike in Greek ports on May 1
The Panhellenic Seamen’s Federation (PNO) has announced a 24-hour strike on May 1 to mark Labout Day.
As a result, all ships in Greek ports will remain docked.
Tirol: 17 days with limited cross-border HGV traffic in the 2nd half of 2023
According to the restriction schedule for the second half of 2023, there are 17 days when the number of lorries passing through the checkpoint at the Kufstein-Nord border crossing on the A12 Inntal motorway near the will be limited to 300. A total of 41 such days have been planned for 2023.
As in previous years, the days have been chosen to mitigate the high intensity of HGV traffic following public holidays in Austria, Italy and Germany, which is due to holiday driving bans. For the first time the creation of this year’s schedule has been aided by a special traffic simulation model, which was used to predict disruptions to traffic flow on selected days. This approach was particularly helpful in accounting for the renovation work on the A 13 Brenner motorway, which is due to start in the autumn.
Days with restrictions in the second half of 2023:
– July 03 (Monday)
– July 10 (Monday)
– July 17 (Monday)
– July 24 (Monday)
– July 31 (Monday)
– September 29 (Friday)
– October 5 (Thursday)
– October 27 (Friday)
– November 2nd (Thursday)
– November 15 (Wednesday)
– November 16 (Thursday)
– November 22 (Wednesday)
– November 23 (Thursday)
– November 29 (Wednesday)
– November 30 (Thursday)
– November 12 (Monday)
– December 12 (Tuesday).
Remaining dats in the first half of the year
– April 26 (Wednesday)
– April 27 (Thursday)
– May 2nd (Tuesday)
– May 15 (Monday)
– May 16 (Tuesday)
– May 17 (Wednesday)
– May 19 (Friday)
– May 26 (Friday)
– May 27 (Saturday)
– May 30 (Tuesday)
– May 31 (Wednesday)
– June 1st (Thursday)
– June 3 (Saturday)
– June 5 (Monday)
– June 6 (Tuesday)
– June 7th (Wednesday)
– June 9 (Friday).
Renovation of a bridge on the A13 between Germany and France – inconveniences and diversion for HGV traffic
The European Bridge (Europabrücke) connecting the two cities of Kehl in Germany and Strasbourg in France will be closed to HGV traffic between May and September. Only cars will be allowed to cross the bridge using one lane.
HGV traffic will be diverted via the A5 or A35 and L 87/D 2 Rheinau-Gambsheim and L 98/N 353 Pierre-Pflimlin-Brücke.
Catalonia: HGV restrictions on AP-7 on 21-23 April
These restrictions are motivated by forecasts of significant increases in traffic volume.
The restriction applies to vehicles with a maximum authorised mass of more than 7.5 tons, which are required to use the right lane and must not overtake other vehicles and drive faster than 80 km/h
On April 21, between 3:00 PM and 9:00 PM, the restrictions will apply on the following sections of the AP-7:
➖ between KP 172, exit 25 in Martorell and the junction with the A-2, in the municipality of Martorell, and KP 176.6, exit 26 in Gelida and Sant Llorenç d’Hortons, in the municipality of Gelida,
➖ between KP 126, exit 12B in La Roca del Vallès, Granollers and the junction with the C-60, in the municipality of La Roca del Vallés, and KP 176.6, exit 26 in Gelida and Sant Llorenç d’Hortons , in the municipality of Gelida,
On April 22, between 3:00 PM and 2:00 PM, the restrictions will apply on the following sections of the AP-7:
➖ between KP 172, exit 25 in Martorell and the junction with the A-2, in the municipality of Martorell, and KP 176.6, exit 26 in Gelida and Sant Llorenç d’Hortons, in the municipality of Gelida,
On April 23, between 3:00 PM and 10:00 PM, the restrictions will apply on the following sections of the AP-7:
➖ between KP 111.1, exit 11 Sant Celoni and Montseny, in the municipality of Sant Celoni, and KP 133.8, exit 13 in Granollers, Montornès del Vallès and Vilanova del Vallés, in the municipality of Montornés del Vallès Valles.
➖ between KP 176.6, exit 26 Gelida and Sant Llorenç d’Hortons, in the municipality of Gelida and KP 172, exit 25 in Martorell and the junction with the A-2, in the municipality of Martorell.
Poland: 4 months of inconveniences and diversions for HGVs on DK62 in Kruszwica
Starting from April, part of the DK62 road near Kruszwica will be closed because of construction work connected with the renovation of the bridge over the Gopło Lake and the construction of a bridge for pedestrians and ciclists and two roundabouts.
The following diversions routes have been established:
❗ Long-distance traffic (vehicles over 3.5 t, including TIR trucks) is diverted along the DW 412, the Inowrocław bypass along the DK 15 and DK 25, and the DW 252 to the town of Zakrzewo and the DW 266 to Radziejów.
Local traffic (in particular, vehicles under 3.5 t, agricultural tractors and transports whose destinations are located in the region) is divereted along the following streets: Niepodległości, along a municipal road through the town of Kobylniki, across a new bridge, then along Cementarna, Wiejska, Solidarności (or alternatively along Cicha, depending on the progress of works on Kujawska and Solidarności), as far as Tryszczyńska Road and to T. Kosciuszki.