If you are spending time on Lake Como in the next couple of months you need to be aware of a temporary traffic problem that is creating travel difficulties on the Western Shore.
The heavy goods traffic from Valtellina to the north of Lake Como generally travels to Colico and then down the motorways running through tunnels to the east of Lake Como, arriving in Lecco. About a week ago one of the major tunnels had to be closed unexpectedly for emergency repairs which are expected to take around 2 months, and many drivers are instead driving down the western shore of Lake Como. This includes significant numbers of heavy goods vehicles, not usually seen in any number on the western shore.
The main pinch point is the section of road through Sala Comacina and Ossuccio, mid-way between Como and Menaggio. I was delayed there for an hour last Friday and then by almost an hour on both my journeys earlier this week. So if you need to travel through that area please allow additional time, or where possible take your journey early or late. It might be a little easier also at lunchtime.
The police have mandated that heavy goods vehicles travel in one direction in the morning and the other in the afternoon to alleviate the pressure, and traffic control may improve things. So far traffic police waving their batons vigorously at slow-moving traffic are having little impact!
Over the next couple of months the number of visitors will increase and the traffic delays likely to lengthen. So if you already have a home on the Western shore of Lake Como you might want to plan your activities and travelling to the airport with care. If you are a client looking for a property on Lake Como we will arrange viewings and advise on appropriate hotel accommodation to take account of the traffic.
Of course, the always popular Concorso d’Eleganza is coming up this month, and the additional visitors it brings to the lake will cause some additional traffic, and a blog on this will follow over the next day or so.