The protest was led by Karl Muehlsteiger, mayor of Gries am Brenner, one of the towns in the shadow of the artery that snakes through the narrow, steep-sided Wipp Valley on giant concrete stilts.
The issue of excess traffic and pollution in the valley, which leads to the Brenner Pass, has for decades been a source of tension between Austria and Germany. Local authorities in the Austrian state of Tyrol have introduced various measures to stem the flow, often prompting howls of protest across the border.
"You are making history!" Austrian news agency APA quoted Muehlsteiger as telling a crowd of around 3,000 protesters who gathered on the motorway at 1 p.m. to block it symbolically, hours after police cordoned off both ends of the corridor. Cars arriving there turned around and drove away.
A highway cuts through forests in Herford, Germany. Photo from Pexels
The eight-hour shutdown from 11 a.m. did not cause the chaos many had feared as drivers largely heeded warnings to stay away, even during what in some German states, including neighbouring Bavaria, was a school holiday.
