Vipava Expressway Closed This Weekend for Renovation

The Vipava expressway in Slovenia faces a complete closure between the Vipava and Nanos interchanges from Friday at 5 a.m. until Monday at 5 a.m. This closure is necessary for the ongoing renovation of the section, specifically for the installation of traffic signaling.

During the closure, traffic will be diverted to the parallel state road. For transit truck traffic, diversions will begin in Italy, rerouting vehicles via Fernetič. Slovenian police and Dars supervisors will redirect any trucks that cross the border at Vrtojba back into Italy to use the Fernetič border crossing.

This extensive renovation project, set to last until mid-November, will see traffic on the 12-kilometer section through Rebernice operating on a single lane towards Italy. In the opposite direction, local personal and truck traffic will use the main parallel road. A significant addition during this phase will be the installation of wind protection, designed to significantly reduce the impact of the strong bora winds that frequently affect this route. Previously, the bora restricted traffic on this expressway approximately 20 days annually.

The Vipava expressway is a heavily used route, with over 20,000 vehicles daily, including 4,500 trucks, despite a 6.7% decrease in traffic over the past year attributed to the renovation works. The current weekend closure coincides with the first weekend of July, a peak travel period as many Slovenians, as well as travelers from parts of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, and the Netherlands, begin their holidays.