Storm damage to major Swiss motorway may impact summer travel
The A13 motorway, which runs from northeastern Switzerland to the southern canton of Ticino, was severely damaged during the storms on Friday and Saturday. It's unclear how long it will take to repair the damage.
Massive thunderstorms and rainfall on Friday evening caused a landslide in the southeastern Swiss canton of Graubünden. The debris and flooding tore away some 200 metres of the A13 motorway.
Do you want to read our weekly top stories? Subscribe here.
According to the federal government, repairs are due to begin on Monday. A spokesperson for the Federal Roads Office (Astra) told Swiss public television SRF that it is unclear how long the motorway will be closed.
“It is too early to say how long the closure will last. We have not yet been able to take a close look at the extent of the damage,” said the Astra spokesperson. A more precise picture of the situation should be possible at the beginning of the week. “First we need clarity on the missing people.”
+ Read more: the deadliest landslides in Swiss history
Three people were still missing after the landslide in canton Graubünden on Friday evening.
The damage to the Buffalora pass on the A13 motorway seems to be limited. This was the result of an initial evaluation of the structure after a section of the highway collapsed due to flooding.
However, “with a pass, you have to be able to ensure the statics (tension of the cables). The repair work can only really begin when the flood waters have receded,” the spokesperson said. And that depends on the weather conditions.
“A closure that lasts several weeks or even months has serious consequences. The A13, the San Bernardino route, is an important alternative route to the often congested Gotthard mountain road,” said SRF correspondent Marcel Niedermann. As summer travel begins, the closure of the A13 could lead to more congestion on the Gotthard.
On Sunday, a spokesperson for the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) told news agency Keystone-SDA that it is examining whether holidaymakers should switch to rail travel due to the damage on the A13 motorway.
Adapted from German by DeepL/jdp
This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles.
If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.
External Content
Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Almost finished… We need to confirm your email address. To complete the subscription process, please click the link in the email we just sent you.
More
Why Switzerland is among the ten fastest-warming countries in the world
More
In Switzerland four out of ten people have a migrant background – who are they?
More
Suicides in Switzerland quadruple among older people
More
French gangs target luxury cars in Switzerland
More
Renewed controversy in Switzerland over US fighter jets – explained
In compliance with the JTI standards
More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.