Germany’s motorists’ club ADAC warns that the coming weekend of 24–26 July will bring the ‘highest congestion risk of the summer’ across Europe, singling out Switzerland’s A2 (Gotthard route) and A13 (San-Bernardino) as two of the most critical pinch-points. Published Friday morning, the eight-minute-read forecast notes that the second holiday wave from North-Rhine Westphalia coincides with peak outbound traffic from the Netherlands and several Swiss cantons, while return flows from the early-starting German states pile on in the opposite direction. On the Swiss network, ADAC expects kilometre-long queues at both the Gotthard north portal and the Chiasso border crossing. The club reminds travellers that heavy-goods vehicles above 7.5 tonnes are banned on German roads on Saturday (07:00–20:00) and on Sunday (00:00–22:00), prompting truckers to divert via Switzerland or Austria. Combined with more than 1,000 active construction sites across Germany, spill-over congestion is likely to extend well into Swiss territory. The prognosis is bad news for corporates that rely on ‘just-in-time’ deliveries between Germany and northern Italy. Freight forwarders are already slotting in 3–5 hours of buffer time and advising customers to switch to rail where feasible. Business travellers face missed meetings and duty-of-care headaches as mandated rest times for professional drivers and the still-valid Covid-era passenger-rights compensation rules could trigger cascading costs. ADAC urges drivers to avoid peak windows—Friday afternoon, Saturday morning and Sunday afternoon—use live traffic apps and, where possible, travel mid-week. The club’s Staukalender (jam calendar) pinpoints relatively quieter days; Monday and Tuesday consistently show the lowest risk. For Swiss policymakers, the forecast is another reminder that diversified alpine transit routes such as the A13 and improvements in rail freight capacity are essential to maintain the country’s competitiveness and ensure the smooth flow of goods and tourists alike.
Source: ADAC
