Swiss politicians want year-round opening of Gotthard pass

Proposal in Parliament, 'Gotthard Pass open all year round' Keystone-SDA

A motion signed by 60 parliamentarians wants to scrap the practice of closing the key north-south Gotthard pass in winter – in order to reduce traffic jams.

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The cost of the hypothetical operation would come to some CHF300 million ($339 million), the SonntagsZeitung newspaper reports on Sunday.

For years, the paper writes, there have been efforts to ease the long jams that periodically build up at the entrance to the Gotthard motorway tunnel. Benjamin Giezendanner from the right-wing Swiss People’s Party, who came up with the new idea to keep the mountain pass open, is particularly concerned about traffic during the Easter period. The pass usually re-opens in mid-May.

Various works would be needed to make the pass accessible year round, the SonntagsZeitung writes. These could include avalanche barriers, partial coverings over the road, and new junctions.

Giezendammer reckons the CHF300 million estimate provided by the Federal Roads Office (FEDRO) is “relatively low”. Compared to the CHF2 billion needed to build a second motorway tunnel – a project currently underway – it’s almost a bargain, he argues.

He also tells the newspaper that the aim is not only to ease the traffic congestion at the tunnel entrances, but in surrounding municipalities too.

However, his idea, which is mainly backed by Swiss People’s Party and Radical-Liberal Party politicians, is a clear attack on the Pro Alps association, who were behind the successful 1994 Alpine initiative, which states that the capacity of transit roads in the Alpine region cannot be increased.

Giezendanner says this is not a problem: opening the pass all year round would not be the same as increasing capacity, as neither a new road nor a new lane would be built, he told the newspaper – an argument refuted by Pro Alps, who say the idea is “highly problematic in terms of transport, climate and constitutional policy”.

Adapted from Italian by DeepL/dos

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