Summer holidays mean traffic jams
The start of the summer holiday brought sun-seekers out in force on Saturday, and drivers travelling south via the Gotthard tunnel faced a long wait.
At midday traffic was stacked up for about ten kilometres, with waiting times of about two and a half hours, the Viasuisse traffic service reported.
Drivers were being advised to take the alternative route into Italy via the San Bernardino or over the Gotthard rather than through the tunnel.
However, by late afternoon tunnel traffic was beginning to flow smoothly.
Heavy traffic was also reported to be causing queues of about three kilometres at the northern border motorway crossings at the entrance to Basel, although the wait was only about 15 minutes. Many of the vehicles were from Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands crossing Switzerland on their way to destinations further south.
The weekend marks the start of summer holidays not only in six Swiss cantons but also in a number of European countries.
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