Swiss holidaymakers heading south for the first big ‘change-over weekend’ of the school summer break met a ten-kilometre wall of traffic at 6 a.m. on Saturday, 25 July. According to the Touring Club Suisse (TCS), the queue on the A2 between Erstfeld and Göschenen translated into a delay of about one hour and 40 minutes, forcing many motorists to abandon the emblematic Gotthard route and detour via the A13 San-Bernardino tunnel. Seasonal jams at the Gotthard are nothing new, but today’s tailback arrived earlier and grew faster than the 20-kilometre record set the previous Saturday. Several factors converged: the start of the holidays in the cantons of Zurich and Bern, the second getaway wave from North-Rhine Westphalia in Germany, and exceptionally warm weather that persuaded travellers to leave home before sunrise. The Gotthard Tunnel is one of Europe’s busiest north-south trade and leisure corridors, funnelling Dutch, German and Swiss traffic toward Italy. Because the existing tube is limited to a single lane per direction, the tunnel’s safety concept requires closure whenever congestion reaches critical thresholds—exacerbating delays but reducing collision risk inside the 17-kilometre bore. Long jams along the A2 have real economic repercussions: logistics companies pay late-delivery penalties, tour operators must re-schedule coach drivers’ legally mandated rest times, and cross-border commuters lose working hours. TCS recommends businesses schedule south-bound shipments for mid-week nights and encourage employees to work remotely on peak days. Relief is in sight, but not soon. A second Gotthard road tube is under construction and scheduled to open in 2032; until then, capacity will remain capped. For now, motorists can ease the pain by using traffic apps, packing extra water, and—if possible—choosing the picturesque but less crowded San-Bernardino or Lötschberg routes.
Source: SWI swissinfo.ch
