Gotthard road tunnel reopens after mudslide

A northbound vehicle was struck by the mudslide on the A2 motorway but no one was injured, the Uri police said Uri cantonal police

The north-south Gotthard road tunnel in southern Switzerland was closed due to a mudslide that hit the A2 motorway between Amsteg and Göschenen in canton Uri on Monday evening. It reopened Tuesday evening. 

The mudslide covered a 50-metre section of the motorway around 9.30pm, damaging road infrastructure, the Uri cantonal police said in a statementExternal link. A northbound vehicle was struck by the mudslide but no one was injured.

Vehicles using the Gotthard tunnel were affected until Tuesday evening. The tunnel was reopened at around 7pm. Vehicles on the north-south axis are being diverted onto the A13 motorway via San Bernardino.

After several days of heavy rain and snow, the situation remains difficult in various parts of the country due to avalanche risks and mudslides. Numerous mountain roads are affected or closed in cantons Valais, Graubünden, central Switzerland and the Bernese Oberland. 

A mudslide also derailed a regional train on Monday evening between Lommiswil and Oberdorf in canton Solothurn. No one was injured. The Solothurn-Moutier line is closed temporarily. (SO).

Since Saturday evening, the ski resort of Zermatt External linkin canton Valais has been cut off due to risk of avalanches.

The avalanche risk across a large part of the Alps was downgraded from the maximum level (5 out of 5,”very high”) to 4 (high) on Tuesday morningExternal link.