Mud and debris runoff closed the SS 163 at Tordigliano, in Vico Equense between Piano di Sorrento and Positano, on 15 November 2026, according to PositanoNews.
The central technical question concerns a culvert beneath the road on a curve. Engineer Aniello Casola has asked why the culvert was blocked, preventing mud from draining downhill, according to PositanoNews.
The episode has become a dispute over maintenance, infrastructure monitoring and responsibility for public safety. PositanoNews attributes to ANAS an alleged explanation based on a lack of funds, but no direct ANAS statement has been published and the reported blockage has not been confirmed by an independent engineering assessment.
For drivers, the immediate consequence is a longer inland detour. According to PositanoNews, the nearest alternative from the Naples side runs through Agerola to Amalfi, then onward to Praiano or Positano.
Tordigliano has faced a separate SS 163 disruption in 2026. According to CostieraPress, that earlier closure followed rockfall from privately owned terrain above the road. ANAS reopened the road under alternating one-way traffic after technical inspections and safety works, CostieraPress reported.
It is not clear whether the current runoff and the earlier rockfall involve the same slope, drainage system or structural problem. No reopening date for the current closure has been announced, and it is not known whether the road will reopen fully or under alternating traffic.
Local reporting links the runoff to demands for extraordinary funds and preventive safety work on the Tordigliano stretch.
