Does Switzerland need bigger motorways?

On November 24, the Swiss will vote on a federal plan to widen six stretches of motorway. SWI swissinfo.ch journalist Alexandra Andrist explains what's at stake in the vote.

Traffic jams hit a new record last year in Switzerland. According to the Federal Roads Office, motorists were stuck on Swiss roads for more than 48,800 hours.

To combat the problem, the Swiss federal government and parliament want to invest CHF5.3 billion ($6.14 billion) in widening the A1 motorway between Bern and Zurich and between Lausanne and Geneva.

The government points out that the motorways were built in the 1950s and 1960s, when the small Alpine country had a population of six million. Today, the population has increased by three million, and traffic is increasing accordingly.

An “ecological aberration” for the no camp

An alliance of environmental organisations set up the “Stop motorway construction madness” alliance and organised a referendum against expansion. They argue that public authorities should be investing in the railways instead.

Opponents argue that extending the motorways is not a solution. On the contrary, they say it would lead to an increase in traffic. They estimate that the daily number of vehicles on the motorway will rise from 90,000 to 130,000 if the project goes ahead.

Translated from French using DeepL/amva/ts

The A1 motorway runs from St Magrethen in the northwest to Geneva in the southwest, a span of 383km (240 miles). Between Bern-Wankdorf and Schönbühl in canton Bern, it is to be widened to eight lanes and between Schönbühl and Kirchberg in canton Bern to six lanes. The A1 between Le Vengeron in canton Geneva and Nyon in canton Vaud is also to be widened to six lanes.