“The Pedemontana must be completed. The first stretch, by August 2014”

The Renzi government is continuing to invest in Lombardy’s motorway system. There is no going back, even on the Pedemontana. “It must be completed, as far as Bergamo,” the Minister for Public Works and Transport, Maurizio Lupi, repeated. At a convention, in Gallarate, of Nuovo Centro Destra (the new centre right party), Lupi also confirmed the “road map” for the new motorway, with the latest deadlines for the opening of the various sections. “The date for Section A, from Cassano Magnago to Lomazzo, is 1 September 2014. The deadline for Section B1, Lomazzo to Lentate sul Seveso, is 30 April 2015, just before the Expo, which opens on 15 May. Sections B2, C and D, will open by July 2017. The government will press for these dates, and will do its part, by removing any bureaucratic obstacles, if necessary.” In any case, there is the confirmation of the investment for the new motorway, after doubts emerged concerning the possibility and appropriateness of completing the whole section as far as Osio Sotto, near Bergamo.

On the other hand, Maurizio Lupi, who attended with Raffaele Cattaneo and the former Mayor of Gallarate, Nicola Mucci, has been one of the great supporters of the new motorway system in Lombardy, including new bypasses, the BreBeMi and the Pedemontana.

And what about the railway system? Lupi only talked specifically about the Rho-Gallarate. “We haven’t set it aside”, the Minister said, confirming the resources for planning the work, to be kept ready in the drawer, to start as soon as the funding is available. At least, the project is not dead and buried, as it serves one of the busiest routes for rail commuters, international passengers and goods trains, which, with the Gottardo super tunnel in Switzerland becoming operational, will increase in intensity. Lupi also mentioned the effort made for the system of discounts for commuters, those who travel on the motorway. “The discount is much greater than the increase in motorway tolls. It’s partial, but in any case, it’s a better response than blocking the tollbooths,” he said, with a caustic reference to the Northern League, who stormed the tollbooth in Gallarate, two months ago, against one of the “injustices” most felt by Varese Province.