Switzerland’s A2 motorway once again became a chokepoint for north-south traffic on the main European holiday weekend. By 06:00 on Saturday, 25 July, Touring Club Suisse (TCS) traffic cameras showed a 10-km queue at the Gotthard-Nordportal near Erstfeld, with southbound motorists losing up to 1 h 40 min. Congestion persisted in both directions until mid-afternoon, when the tailback finally shrank to seven kilometres. The Federal Roads Office (ASTRA) attributes the jam to the traditional ‘Black Saturday’ getaway combined with lane restrictions inside the tunnel for maintenance. On the southern side, a separate four-kilometre jam built up between Quinto and Airolo, delaying travellers heading back towards Germany, the Netherlands and northern Switzerland. For businesses that rely on just-in-time deliveries through the Gotthard corridor, the delays are more than an inconvenience. Several logistics firms told Swiss freight association ASTAG that perishable loads needed rerouting via the San Bernardino Pass or via rail through the Lötschberg Base Tunnel, adding costs and forcing weekend overtime. ASTRA advises private motorists to travel outside peak windows (before 05:00 or after 20:00) and to use the traffic forecast tool on its Via Suisse app. Companies running staff shuttles to Italian sites are switching to the Gotthard car-train service (Autoverlad) or planning overnight coach departures to avoid regulatory driving-time breaches. With further construction closures scheduled for the first weekend of August, mobility managers should expect similar disruption over the next fortnight.
Source: Watson
