Chiasso border post to stay open longer to ease Gotthard tailbacks

The Chiasso checkpoint on the border to Italy has had its opening times extended to deal with traffic jams in the Gotthard tunnel axis Keystone Archive

The border post of Chiasso, on the frontier between Switzerland and Italy, is to remain open late into the night in the run-up to Easter in a bid to ease major tailbacks on Europe's main north-south road axis.

The decision, announced by a special tansport ministry task force on Monday, will lift the night-time ban on traffic in the area, and will last until the tailbacks have been cleared.

The Chiasso border post is expected to stay open from Wednesday to Friday. The measure has been approved in coordination with Italy.

Hundreds of trucks have been blocked in canton Ticino and on the north side of the Gotthard tunnel because the border point is not sufficiently equipped to deal with a recent upsurge in traffic. Up to 5,000 trucks a day have been crossing the border at Chiasso.

The problem has been exacerated by the breakdown of one of the electronic tax machines at the crossing point.

Under one of the bilateral accords Switzerland signed with the European Union, more heavy goods vehicles have been allowed to transit Switzerland since January. A special tax, which can be paid at the frontier, also came into effect at the same time.

There have been fears that the Gotthard tunnel area – scene of heavy traffic during peak periods – could be brought to a complete standstill during the Easter holidays.

A special lane is also being set aside for trucks to avoid further problems for car drivers.

swissinfo with agencies